by Henry Liao
The numbers say it all.
Luka Doncic ain’t that chummy with his peers.
While the Lakers star ranked first in NBA All-Star Game fan balloting (50 percent) for the five starters in the Western Conference and was second in media votes (25 percent), the bombastic Doncic ranked only sixth in players’ votes (25 percent).
In the end, following the weighted average results in the All-Star voting, Doncic placed only second overall (2.5) to injured Nuggets center and three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic (1.75), who was No. 1 in player votes, No. 2 in both fan votes and media votes.
![Luka Doncic dominated fan voting yet fell short overall as player ballots reshaped the NBA All-Star starters. [photo credit: Los Angeles Lakers Instagram]](http://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot_583.png)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the reigning NBA titlist Oklahoma City Thunder was No. 1 in media votes, third in player votes and fourth in fan votes to rank third overall with a weighted score of 3.
Golden State guard Stephen Curry was second in player votes, third in fan votes and sixth in media votes to place fourth overall in the All-Star starters’ balloting.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama was fifth, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards was sixth, Portland’s Avdija was eighth, the Lakers’ LeBron James was ninth (woh, NINTH), and the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard rounded out the top 10.
Poor LeBron, now at 41 years old, was eighth in player votes, eighth in fan votes and ninth in media votes for an 8.25 weighted score.
In the All-Star starter balloting in the East, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo ranked first overall with a weighted score of 2.25 (first in fan votes, second in player votes and fifth in media votes), Detroit’s Cade Cunningham was second at 2.75 (1st in player votes, 2nd in media votes and 4th in fan votes), followed by Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, third (3.0, 2nd in fan votes, 3rd in media votes and 5th in player votes), New York’s Jalen Brunson and Boston’s Jaylen Brown in the top five.
The rest of the top 10 voting in the East included Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, Brooklyn’s Michael Porter and Toronto’s Brandon Ingram.
The reserves in each conference will be chosen by the NBA head coaches on Feb. 2, Manila time.
Each conference will have seven reserves.
Unlike before, when the seven substitutes were composed of two backcourt players and three frontcourt players plus two wild cards, they also will be picked without regard to position.
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has one of the more positive NBA late draftee successes in recent memory. Drafted 46th Read more
Like his brother Steph, Seth Curry also knows how to make clutch plays. Curry hit a top of the key Read more
The Milwaukee Bucks rewrote the record books Tuesday night, making a whopping 29 triples in a huge 144-97 win over Read more
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has scored in double-digits for 1,000 consecutive games, a record he set as the Read more
- Luka Doncic tops fans but trails peers in NBA All-Star voting shocker - January 22, 2026
- 2026 NBA All-Star Game set for Intuit Dome with three-team format - January 22, 2026
- LeBron James’ limited availability puts All-Star hopes in question - January 22, 2026