Latest NBA All-Star Game fan voting returns are positive for Celtics
Latest NBA All-Star Game fan voting returns are positive for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are on track to have at least one starter in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, with the potential for one or two other players making it as reserves.
All-Star starters are determined by 50 percent fan vote, 25 percent media vote and 25 percent player vote. Reserves are voted on by the 30 head coaches.
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The league revealed the third batch of All-Star fan voting returns Thursday, and Celtics star Jayson Tatum is third among Eastern Conference frontcourt players with nearly 4 million votes. He has a huge lead of about 2.5 million votes over Jimmy Butler for the third and final frontcourt starting spot in the East. The real question is whether Tatum can catch Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid for second in the frontcourt voting.
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown and center Kristaps Porzingis rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in voting among frontcourt players. Boston won't have any guards in the starting lineup at the All-Star Game, but Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are seventh and ninth, respectively, in the voting at their position.
This year's All-Star Game is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 18 and will be hosted by the Indiana Pacers.
Here are the full returns for both conferences as of Thursday afternoon.
LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences in the third fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each. pic.twitter.com/fyGeQXgEhH— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 18, 2024
Tatum and Brown absolutely deserve to be in the All-Star Game. Tatum has been selected four consecutive years, while Brown made it in 2021 and 2023. Porzingis has a strong case, too. He's been a very effective player in his first season with the C's. White is posting career highs in several stats, and his defensive impact has been excellent as well.
The Celtics own the league's best record at 32-9 entering Thursday. They are the best team in the league and deserve to have multiple players representing them at the All-Star Game.
