Initial returns on All-Star voting have Suns’ Booker trailing Ball, Ginobili
Jan 4, 2018, 5:50 PM
(AP photos)
(AP photos)
The first returns on All-Star voting are in and they are not favorable to Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker.
Booker is ninth among Western Conference guards in votes with 91,562.
Fan votes are generally unpredictable, but it’s surprising to see Booker so low given the season he’s having.
Entering Thursday’s play across the league, Booker is ninth in the NBA in scoring at 25 points per game.
Posting 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game to go along with that scoring, Booker is one of only eight players in the league to be averaging at least 25 points, four rebounds and four assists per game, per Basketball-Reference.
Notable names he trails includes Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball (120,817) and San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili (231,460).
Ball has had an up and down rookie season. He’s averaging 10.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game on 34.9 percent shooting from the field.
Ginobili, meanwhile, has not been the player he once was. A fan favorite and legend in San Antonio, the 40-year-old is scoring just 8.5 points a game in 20.9 minutes a night for the Spurs.
Voting closes on Jan. 15 at 9:59 p.m. and the starters will be revealed on Jan. 18. For the second year to determine starters, fans account for 50 percent of the vote, players are at 25 percent and a media panel takes up the other 25 percent.
NBA coaches will then vote for the reserves of their respective conferences to fill the last seven spots: two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards.
A full list of voting results to this point in the West can be found below.
Frontcourt
1. Kevin Durant (GSW) 767,402
2. Anthony Davis (NOP) 393,000
3. DeMarcus Cousins (NOP) 356,340
4. Draymond Green (GSW) 325,612
5. Paul George (OKC) 291,495
6. Kawhi Leonard (SAS) 212,650
7. Carmelo Anthony (OKC) 194,239
8. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 188,240
9. Kyle Kuzma (LAL) 184,338
10. LaMarcus Aldridge (SAS) 153,599
Guards
1. Stephen Curry (GSW) 735,115
2. James Harden (HOU) 602,040
3. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 438,469
4. Klay Thompson (GSW) 359,442
5. Manu Ginobili (SAS) 231,460
6. Chris Paul (HOU) 174,343
7. Damian Lillard (POR) 148,622
8. Lonzo Ball (LAL) 120,817
9. Devin Booker (PHO) 91,562
10. Jimmy Butler (MIN) 88,009
