Any other year, bitching about NBA All-Star voting would start sometime this week, which is when the ballot is released and voting commences. Of course, you’re probably wondering “well, that’s kind of early, isn’t it?” Yes, yes it is.
Most players don’t even have ten games under their belts at this point in the season, but that never stopped the NBA from tossing out 120 names (60 in each conference) to get the ball rolling. Of course, this inevitably led to some suspicious selections — often the result of 1.3 billion people in China having a say in matters — like Kobe Bryant’s starting nod last season, and Jeremy Lin landing in third and fourth place the last two years (ahead of James Harden both times).
Well, the good news is that NBA won’t open voting for this year’s edition until December 11th, which will allow people to actually watch a few more games before making their first selections. However, the NBA has decided to do away with the traditional media-selected pool, and just toss every single player on an NBA roster on the ballot.
The ballot on NBA.com will for the first time feature every player in the league. It formerly included only 60 players per conference who had been selected by a media panel.
Fans will continue to vote for three frontcourt players and two guards to start for each conference. The online ballot will be updated daily to include players who have newly signed or been called up from the NBA Development League.
“Our players are the most exciting athletes in the world,” president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said Thursday in a statement. “Our choice to include all NBA players is both a tribute to their skills and achievements, and another way to engage our fans in the full experience of NBA All-Star by giving them every option.”
So, congratulations, members of the 2014-15 76ers! Your moms will all get a chance to vote for you! Also, it’s a good thing Yi Jianlian isn’t in the NBA anymore, or else he’d probably be a starting big man for the Eastern Conference.
[ESPN]
