The 2016 NBA All-Star game is special for a few reasons: this year marks the 65th annual game, and it will be played in Toronto on Feb. 14, 2016. It will be the first time that the All-Star game has been played outside of the United States, marking a great day for Canadian basketball as a true representation that the Toronto Raptors and Canadian players have secured important esteem in the eyes of the NBA and its fans. The top NBA players, as voted on by the public, will be arriving in Toronto for three days of festivities ranging from skills challenges to the all-star game on the final day.
Voting has been open since early December 2015, and closed on Jan. 18, 2016. This year, fans had the option of voting for their favorite players on a variety of social media platforms. One could choose to go to the NBA website and cast a ballot or vote by text, Twitter, Instagram or a number of other forms of media. The official starting spots will be announced on Jan. 21, 2016.
Fans voted for up to 10 players per ballot, and could cast a new one every twenty-four hours. Voters had to choose at least two point guards and three front court players in their vote. Votes were cast all over the world, as people voted for players from the eastern division and the western division. The western division received a lot more love from fans this year as they obtained significantly more votes than players in the eastern hemisphere.
Shooting guard Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers led the votes convincingly to win an all-star starter slot. Bryant will be playing in his eighteenth all-star game this year and plans to retire at the end of the 2015-16 season, his twentieth in the NBA. Oklahoma City’s forward Kevin Durant finished second in the votes for the starting positions, with Draymond Green from Golden State in third.
The point guard starter spots for the western team were resoundingly won by last year’s NBA most valuable player Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma, who got the second spot with half the amount of the votes that Curry received.
In the eastern division, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Lebron James secured his starting spot in what will be his twelfth NBA all-star game. Shooting Guard Paul George of the Indiana Pacers came in second, while Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks got the third starting position. Anthony has been fighting an ankle injury since the Knicks’ game against the Celtics on Jan. 12, 2016, but should be healed in time for his ninth all-star game.
Dwyane Wade from Miami secured the top vote for the eastern team’s starting point guard, and Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving took the second spot by a small margin over Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry.
The coaches of the East and West teams, who have yet to be announced, will decide on the reserve spots for the all-star game once the votes have been finalized for the starting positions.