Following the return of fan voting for the second time for the 2024-25 All-Star Game, Damian Lillard He sits in third place for guards in the Eastern Conference behind LaMelo Ball and Donovan Mitchell. As Milwaukee's guard eyes his ninth All-Star selection, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo urged fans to vote.
In a post on his Instagram Story Thursday morning, The Greek Freak posted a photo of himself with Lillard on the court, urging fans to vote for his Milwaukee star.
In response, Lillard posted Antetokounmpo's story on his own story, adding:
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“Lift me up sir lol”
Lillard is just over 161,500 votes outside of second place, while Antetokounmpo not only leads the Eastern Conference's frontcourt vote, but also leads all players across the league when it comes to fan voting.
The starting players for both teams are selected based on votes from fans, NBA players, and the media. Reserve players are then selected based on votes from coaches across the league, with each conference selecting seven reserves.
Prior to the All-Star Weekend in February, the starters will be announced on January 23 on TNT, with the reserves then announced on January 30 during the network's TNT NBA Tip-Off show.
Consider Damian Lillard's case for an All-Star selection this season
As previously mentioned, Damian Lillard currently ranks third among point guards in the Eastern Conference. With LaMelo Ball receiving nearly 500,000 votes ahead of Lillard, and more than 300,000 votes ahead of Donovan Mitchell, it appears likely that he will earn his second All-Star selection.
The question now is whether Damian Lillard can surpass Donovan Mitchell to secure his spot as a starter on the All-Star team, or whether he should hope for a spot as a reserve.
If the current standings hold and Donovan Mitchell earns the No. 2 starting lineup in the Eastern Conference, Lillard still has a strong case to earn his ninth All-Star selection.
Lillard is averaging 24.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Meanwhile, he has improved in his field goal percentage and 3-point percentage compared to last year, while helping lead Milwaukee to fifth place in the Eastern Conference despite a slow start to the season.
Fan votes also indicated, along with Lillard, both Jalen Bronson and Trae Young Have cases to be selected as All-Star reserves for Eastern Conference guards. Brunson helped lead the Knicks to third place in the East by averaging 25.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists on 47.7% from the floor.
In Young's case, while the Hawks are ninth in the East, Young leads the league with 12.2 assists per game, a notable jump from his average of 10.8 assists last season. Additionally, Young is averaging 22.6 points and 1.3 steals per game on 40.1% from the floor.
Given that, while Damian Lillard has a strong case to be selected as the Eastern Conference's starting point guard, there is clearly some stiff competition.
Edited by Evan Bell
