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2007 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING FIRST RETURNS ANNOUNCED; KG LEADS WESTERN CONFERENCE FORWARDS
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NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2006 – Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Kobe Bryant
of the Los Angeles Lakers lead the Western Conference, while LeBron James
of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers lead
the Eastern Conference in votes received after the first returns of 2007
NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile.
Through the 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program, NBA fans from around the
globe are responsible for voting in the starters for the 56th NBA All-Star
Game, which will be played in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 18. The game will
air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories
worldwide.
Yao leads all players with 836,392 votes. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin
Garnett leads all Western Conference forwards with 453,536 votes, followed
by San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (423,228). Bryant (720,375) and the Houston
Rockets’ Tracy McGrady (668,130) lead all Western Conference guards.
James leads all Eastern Conference players with 808,570 votes, followed by
Iverson (595,200). The Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh (304,624) is second to
James among Eastern Conference forwards. Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal leads all
Eastern Conference centers with 522,815 votes, followed by the Orlando
Magic’s Dwight Howard (415,708).
Fans have the opportunity to vote at all NBA arenas, in 20 languages on
NBA.com, on AOL.com/nba, at 1,250 T-Mobile-owned retail locations and at
t-zones using T-Mobile service or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier.
Fans will be able to vote at several locations in Las Vegas, the host city
of NBA All-Star 2007, including the Las Vegas Convention Center, Fremont
Street and the Thomas & Mack Center. For the first time, 13 NBA team arenas
will also carry a Spanish-language version of the ballot. T-Mobile is the
presenting partner of 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program. This year’s
other All-Star Balloting partners include 2K Sports, AOL.com, XBOX,
GameStop & EB Games.
NBA All-Star 2007 is a week-long celebration that enables fans to
experience the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes playing the game
they love and features a full slate of community-enhancing activities and
fan festivals such as NBA All-Star Jam Session.
A total of 120 players – 60 each from the Eastern and Western Conferences –
are listed on the NBA All-Star ballot, with 24 guards, 24 forwards and 12
centers from each conference comprising the ballot. Voters select two
guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. The 120 players
on the ballot were selected by a panel of media experts who regularly cover
the NBA. This year’s panel included Steve Aschburner (Minneapolis Star
Tribune/ President, Professional Basketball Writers’ Association), Ric
Bucher (ESPN the Magazine), Ernie Johnson (Turner Sports) and Sam Smith
(Chicago Tribune). |
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