Although the Los Angeles Lakers are going through yet another rough stretch this season, LeBron James still does exceptionally well in the 2022 NBA All-Star Voting.
Last week, the four-time NBA champion gained ground on the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who held onto his lead with 4.46 million votes after the second fan returns. However, James leapfrogged Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to rank second with nearly 4.4 million votes, trailing Curry by less than 80,000.
James and Curry are still the leading vote-getters after the third return, although this time the Lakers star is in the lead:
LeBron James now leads the NBA in the latest fan returns for NBA All-Star Voting presented by Tissot, which concludes this Saturday, Jan. 22.
Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and James continue to be the top vote-getters at their respective position groups. pic.twitter.com/LBIU5BamC6
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 20, 2022
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook remained among the top-10 most-voted players in their respective ballot categories. Davis is fifth (2,071,920 votes) and Anthony is seventh (1,449,475 votes) among the Western Conference’s frontcourt players.
Meanwhile, Westbrook is sixth on the list of the West’s guards with 855,990 votes.
The All-Star Voting concludes on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 9 p.m. PT while the starters and team captains, which go to each conference’s leading vote-getters, will be announced on TNT next Thursday.
James says Lakers are currently ‘sub .500’ team’
The Purple and Gold slid back under the .500 mark following Wednesday’s 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Although James still believes L.A. has enough talent on the roster to own a winning record, he said the Lakers need to embrace the fact they are “a sub .500 team” at the moment.
“I feel like we have a good enough team to win ball games and be over .500 and win ball games,” the All-Star forward said.
“We are who we are. We can’t even sit here and say we should be this, we should be that. Our record is who we are. We are a sub .500 team as it stands today, and we have to play better. We have a heck of a road trip coming up and we will be tested. A lot of great teams. We’ll see what we’re made of.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!