The first round of NBA All-Star voting is in. The list features two guards on the Brooklyn Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyrie Irving.
The fans spoke. They believe that amongst the guards in the Eastern Conference, Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyrie Irving (who has only played 11 games this season) should be in the mix for an All-Star appearance this February. Brooklyn Nets fans have clearly hit the voting in full force.
Fan voting in regards to the NBA All-Star game isn’t perfect. There aren’t many who would refute such a statement. When looking at some of the names on this list, it’s easy to understand why.
First round of NBA All-Star voting is in. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic are leading their respective conferences. pic.twitter.com/HDfOXifPpD
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 2, 2020
Fortunately, fan voting is not the end-all-be-all in terms of who actually gets to represent their team during the All-Star Game. In terms of starters, coaches/media make up 50% of the vote, with fans accounting for the other 50%. The fate of the reserves is sealed by the 30 coaches in the league. Coaches are solely responsible for selecting the 14 reserves from both respective conferences.
So despite Dinwiddie being at the bottom of the list amongst Eastern Conference guards in this initial return, that’s not to say he won’t make an All-Star appearance.
Since cracking the starting lineup, Dinwiddie is averaging 26.0 points and 7.2 assists per game on 43.0/30.1/80.1 shooting splits. Equally as important, his gaudy stats have translated to a 12-9 record with him as the team’s primary floor general (4-7 without).
Had Kyrie Irving not gone down with an injury, he was well on his way to a seventh NBA All-Star appearance. However, Irving’s second-place standing amongst guards in the East (432,481) really showcases that fan voting is a popularity contest.
All voting ends on Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m. Barring a major drop off, Spencer Dinwiddie’s case for All-Star candidacy is still incredibly strong. Let’s hope he makes the cut.
