NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2007
– In the fourth and final update before the All-Star starters are announced
on Jan. 25, Yao Ming of the
Houston Rockets leads the Western Conference and LeBron James of the Cleveland
Cavaliers leads the Eastern Conference in returns of 2007 NBA All-Star
Balloting presented by T-Mobile.
The 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting
program continues through Jan. 15 for paper balloting and Jan. 21 for online
balloting. The 2007 All-Star starters will be announced on Thursday Jan.
25 prior to a TNT doubleheader. Following the completion of fan voting
and the starting line-up announcement, the head coaches in each conference
will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference,
which will be announced Thursday, Feb. 1 prior to a TNT doubleheader.
Through the 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting
program, NBA fans worldwide 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.
Tight races for starting spots
exist in both conferences. The Denver Nuggets’ Allen Iverson (1,300,248)
trails the Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady (1,331,511) by 31,263 votes
among Western Conference guards. In the East, the Toronto Raptors’ Chris
Bosh (684,620) and the Indiana Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal (621,476) are
separated by just 63,144 votes for a starting forward position.
Yao leads all players with 1,775,413
votes. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett leads all Western Conference
forwards with 1,068,168 votes, followed by San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (1,025,812).
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (1,536,556) and McGrady lead all Western
Conference guards. James leads all Eastern Conference players with 1,774,281
votes, followed by the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (1,371,850). Bosh is second
among Eastern Conference forwards. The New Jersey Nets’ Vince Carter (1,002,709)
is second to Wade among Eastern Conference guards. Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal
leads all Eastern Conference centers with 1,143,904 votes, followed by
the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard (978,007).
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 presented by adidas.
In conjunction with All-Star Balloting,
2K Sports will give fans the chance to live out their Las Vegas hoop dreams
by entering the Official Balloting NBA 2K7 All-Star Sweepstakes for a chance
to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2007 and play 2K Sports NBA 2K7 on XBOX 360
against an NBA player. In addition, T-Mobile will promote their Fave 5
Sweepstakes by offering fans a chance to bring their favorite five friends
to the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. |
