The 2019 NBA All-Star starters are precisely who you’d think, save for some who had Anthony Davis over Paul George. Otherwise we have the usuals: LeBron James, Steph Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, etc. There was little drama for the night, thanks to the new voting system that weighs fan votes as 50 percent, media votes as 25 percent, and player votes as 25 percent.
The weirdest NBA All-Star player votes, led by Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is still looking for a team to play for, but SEVEN of his colleagues voted for him to start in the All-Star Game. Lol
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
The most thought-provoking part of the All-Star starters announcements wasn’t in who ultimately was selection. Instead, it was in Who In The Heck Voted For These Dudes?!
In the two years since the voting switch, it’s become clear that players don’t really take their ballots seriously. The All-Star Game is just a glamour event for players to throw down flashy dunks and take pictures, and everyone knows it. Plus, the selections are mostly inevitable with fan and media votes counting too.
The poster child for this is Carmelo Anthony
The ex-Houston Rocket, ex-Atlanta Hawk, soon-to-be ex-Chicago Bull who hasn’t found a home or played a game since leaving the Rockets on Nov. 8. Some questioned if his career was over.
But seven players are questioning why he isn’t starting in the All-Star Game. SEVEN!
This season, before he was essentially forced to leave the Rockets, he averaged 13 points on 41 percent shooting. So dang, Melo really has some loyal peers in the league.
But the list doesn’t stop there.
Here are some other notable player vote totals.
Remember, these are player votes to START in the game:
- Lonzo Ball, 10 votes
- Bogdan Bogdanovic, 10 votes
- Jeff Teague, 10 votes
- Kyle Kuzma, 10 votes
- Harrison Barnes, 9 votes
- Patrick Beverley, 9 votes
- Wilson Chandler, 9 votes
- Bam Adebayo, 8 votes
- Montrezl Harrell, 8 votes
- D.J. Augustin, 7 votes
- J.J. Barea, 7 votes
- Mo Bamba, 6 votes
- Dario Saric, 6 votes
- Ryan Arcidiacono, 5 votes
- Kyle Anderson, 4 votes
- Thomas Bryant, 4 votes
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 4 votes
- John Collins, 4 votes
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, 4 votes
- Boban Marjanovic, 4 votes
- Derrick White, 4 votes
- Kevin Love, 3 votes (he’s played in 4 games)
- Troy Caupain (who?), 2 votes
Several other random players — 101, in fact — received one vote from fellow players, as Kristian Winfield noted. We can only assume they voted for themselves or had a friend vote on their behalf.
But the fans had some weird picks, too:
Here are some notable fan vote totals:
- Kyle Kuzma, 1,155,582 (8th most among Western Conference forwards)
- Vince Carter, 540,939 (7th most among Eastern Conference guards)
- JaVale McGee, 316,015 (16th among Western Conference forwards)
- Carmelo Anthony, 202,117 (20th most among Western Conference forwards)
- Jonas Jerebko, 125,647 (25th most among Western Conference forwards)
- Cedi Osman, 101,593 (20th most among Eastern Conference forwards)
Congrats to these guys, who must be cashing out on merchandise sales without playing like a star on the court. Must be nice.
See More:
