Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo lead first round of NBA All-Star voting

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo led the first round of fan voting for the 2020 All-Star Game, the league announced Thursday.

Doncic, who was named Rookie of the Year last season, has averaged 29 points and 8.9 assists per game this year, ranking third in the league in both categories. Entering Thursday night, he also averaged 9.5 rebounds per game.

Antetokounmpo has led the Milwaukee Bucks (31-5) to the best record in the league to this point in the season. He has averaged 30.4 points per game, second only to Houston Rockets star guard James Harden.

Doncic, who has 1,073,957 votes, currently holds the top spot among guards in the Western Conference. Harden checked in at No. 2 with 749,080 votes, followed by Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard (202,498), injured Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry (191,149) and Rockets guard Russell Westbrook (189,005).

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James (1,020,851) and teammate Anthony Davis (955,246) led the Western Conference frontcourt players in voting, followed by Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (740,657), Clippers swingman Paul George (280,894) and Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns (173,129).

Antetokounmpo led all Eastern Conference frontcourt players with 1,073,358 votes. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (606,534), Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (544,302), Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (431,483) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum rounded out the top five.

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young topped all Eastern Conference backcourt players with 443,412 votes. He was followed closely by injured Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (432,481) and Boston Celtics star Kemba Walker (432,031).

NBA fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the vote for the five starters from each conference. The remaining 50 percent is split evenly among voting by the media and other NBA players.

The NBA will update the voting totals on Jan. 9 and Jan. 16. Voting will close on Jan. 20.