Sixers’ Joel Embiid among top vote-getters in the first round of NBA All-Star fan voting

Joel Embiid ranked third among Eastern Conference frontcourt players in the first round of NBA All-Star voting by fans released Thursday.

He is the lone 76ers player among the top 10 vote-getters for Eastern Conference frontcourt players or guards.

The East’s top three frontcourt vote-getters are Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (2,360,435), Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,145,835), and Embiid (1,236,060). The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (643,970) is a distant fourth.

The Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan (1,487,598), Brooklyn’s James Harden (892,065), Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young (862,878), and the Bulls’ Zach LaVine (776,043) are the conference’s four leading guards.

Golden State Warriors point guard and two-time MVP Steph Curry is the league’s top vote-getter with 2,584,623 votes, while Durant leads the East.

Fans account for 50% of the All-Star votes to determine the 10 starters for the NBA All-Star Game, which is scheduled to be played Feb. 20 in Cleveland. A media panel and current NBA players will each account for 25% of the vote. The voters must pick two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference on their ballots.

The second fan voting update will be shared on Jan. 13. Fan voting concludes on Jan. 22 at midnight.

Embiid is expected to become the franchise’s first player to be voted to start in his fifth consecutive NBA All-Star Games since Allen Iverson did it seven straight times from 2000-6. The center is averaging 33.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks while shooting 47.1% from three-point distance in the Sixers’ last six games.

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