NBA All-Star Voting: Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard Leading Vote-Getters After Early Results

The first round of results are in for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, and Kobe Bryant is leading the way.

Dec 16, 2010, 6:45 PM UTC

The first round of NBA All-Star voting has been released to the public, and there aren't a ton of surprises at the top. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is the leading vote-getter, ammassing 722,682 votes, nearly doubling the second-place guard, Chris Paul. In the Eastern Conference, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is the leading vote-getter, with 611,561 votes, just a few thousand ahead of LeBron James.

If voting ended today, these would be your starters for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game.

EAST:

G: Dwyane Wade (570,489 votes)
G: Rajon Rondo (497,141)
F: LeBron James (607,994)
F: Kevin Garnett (456,111)
C: Dwight Howard (611,561)

WEST:

G: Kobe Bryant (722,682)
G: Chris Paul (386,649)
F: Kevin Durant (470,881)
F: Pau Gasol (390,808)
C: Yao Ming (430,984)

The most closely-contested positions now are the Western Conference forwards (Gasol leads Carmelo Anthony by 21,040 votes) and Eastern Conference guards (Rondo leads Derrick Rose by 72,785 votes). Some other notables:

Amare Stoudemire, fresh off a nine-game stretch of at least 30 points, is third among Eastern Conference forwards with 327,696 votes, well behind Garnett.
Chris Bosh checks in at the fifth position with 161,801 votes, behind James, Garnett, Stoudemire and Paul Pierce.
Clippers rookie Blake Griffin received 245,167 votes, but that's only sixth among Western Conference forwards, behind Durant, Gasol, Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan.
Wizards rookie John Wall is fifth among guards with 120,284 votes. His teammate, Gilbert Arenas, is seventh, for some reason.
Who is second among Eastern Conference centers? Why, it's Shaquille O'Neal, with 241,782 votes.
Russell Westbrook is just seventh among Western Conference guards, despite having an unbelievable season.
The top two Western Conference centers (Yao Ming and Andrew Bynum) have played in a combined seven games this year. Center number three? Brendan Haywood, who doesn't even start on his own team.