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The NBA released the results from the first round of fan voting for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game on Thursday. Based on the early numbers, it’s safe to conclude Beal will need to rely on the coaches vote to return to the All-Star Game.
Beal finished ninth among Eastern Conference backcourt players with 61,269 votes in the first set of returns. But to just say he’s ninth doesn’t really do justice to how far behind Beal is in the voting relative to his peers.
- Kyrie Irving - 910,329
- Dwyane Wade - 409,156
- Kemba Walker - 319,519
- Ben Simmons - 259,993
- Victor Oladipo - 198,009
- Kyle Lowry - 180,571
- Zach LaVine - 128,605
- Jeremy Lin - 62,573
- Bradley Beal - 61,269
- John Wall - 54,366
Beal would need to triple his vote total just to get to sixth-place. If he had five times as many votes as he does now, he’d still be behind Kemba Walker.
Even if Beal dominated the player and media vote (which accounts for the half of the voting which determines who starts in the All-Star Game) it would be extremely difficult for him to get a starting spot.
In reality, the best thing fans can do to help Beal’s All-Star bid is to vote for Kemba Walker, who’s currently third behind Dwyane Wade in fan voting. The coaches are unlikely to vote Wade in as a reserve, so if he gets voted in as a starter, it takes away a spot that would otherwise go to a more-deserving guard.
Voting for the 2019 All-Star Game concludes on January 21. The starters will be announced on January 24 and the reserves will be announced on January 31.