In the second return of NBA All-Star fan voting, LeBron James and Stephen Curry led their respective conferences with the most votes. Given the new NBA All-Star format, both players are on pace to become captains when fan-voting concludes on January 15th.
Kevin Durant, for one, hopes things stay that way.
Durant was the leading vote-getter out West after the first returns were revealed, but he'll be happy to know that his teammate has taken the top spot. Durant recently said he would "rather somebody else do it," in regards to being a captain and choosing his All-Star teammates.
"I don't want to do it," Durant told The Athletic. "I'd rather somebody else do it. It's cool to be an All-Star, but all the extra stuff ... I just want to go play in the game. [The new format]'s cool, a different way, a creative way that's good for the fans. But me, I'll let somebody else pick the teams."
Steph Curry, on the other hand, is all for it. The All-Star point guard, who leads KD by less than 44,000 votes, says,
"Why not?"
"I'll be the first to usher in the new system. I used to go to the playground all the time, and you wanted to be the guy picking teams. That meant you were something on the court back in the day. It'll be a cool vibe to see how it all shakes out and how unique you can make the lineups."
Fans may vote may vote for 10 unique players per day from now until January 15th. The All-Star starters, including the two captains will be announced on January 18th at 6pm ET on TNT.
The reserves, selected by the NBA head coaches, will be revealed on January 23rd at 6pm ET on TNT. The final rosters will be announced on January 25th at 7pm ET, also on TNT.