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Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers are struggling so mightily in his final season in the NBA that it's painful for his fans to watch one of the game all-time greats. So imagine his surprise to learn that he is leading the early voting for the All-Star, by a wide margin.
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Bryant has 719,235 votes, far ahead of runner-up Stephen Curry (510,202), the NBA's reigning most valuable player for the champion Golden State Warriors, and more than double LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (357,937).
"Listen, I was making a little coffee run (Christmas) morning, got some gas and decided to just go on Instagram and peruse," Bryant told reporters. "(I) saw the damn votes, and I was like, 'What the hell?' Shocked doesn't do it justice.
" ... "It's exciting. What can I say? Just thankful."
The 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto would be Bryant's 18th in his 20 seasons in the league, and he is second behind former Lakers and Bucks great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 19 appearances.
Kobe, 37, is the leading scorer in NBA All-Star Game history with 280 points.
Coach Doc Rivers of the rival Los Angeles Clippers believes Bryant should be on the team.
"A lot of people disagree with me on that," Rivers said before his Clippers beat the Lakers on Christmas night. "That's fine. I have my opinion. I think Kobe should be on the All-Star team.
"I don't care if he's a starter or if they figure out a 13th spot for him. (With) what he's done in his career, he should be on the All-Star team, and I don't see any debate in that.
"You can have one, but I'm not hearing it."
Bryant is averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 30.5 minutes per game this season and the Lakers have a record of 5-25, worst in the Western Conference.
