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Nick Wass/AP (file photo) |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--Kobe Bryant fans got a Christmas treat from the NBA as he leads all players after the first returns of the All-Star voting was released on Saturday (Philippine Time).
The retiring Los Angeles Lakers star got 719,235 votes, putting him on early track of making a start in his last All-Star appearance.
Reigning MVP Stephen Curry is second in voting and first among West guards with 510,202 votes, while LeBron James is third overall and first among the Eastern Conference players with 357,937.
Bryant, who played shooting guard for almost all of his career, currently plays small forward for the Lakers, putting him at the West frontcourt. He is joined by Kevin Durant (349,473) and Blake Griffin (182,107) at the top three forwards/centers.
Russell Westbrook (267,699), on the other hand, is second to Curry in the West guards to make up the West starters.
Meanwhile, James are joined by Paul George (283,735) and Andre Drummond (148,278) in the East frontcourt front-runners.
Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving make up the East guards leaders.
Another return update will be made on Jan. 8 (Philippine Time), and voting will run until Jan. 19 (Philippine Time).
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno