Dwight Howard Tops Voting in NBA All-Star Balloting

The NBA has announced that Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is this year’s leading vote-getter in the 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting program, with a league-best 1,600,390 votes. Howard will start in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, marking his fifth consecutive NBA All-Star Game start and sixth NBA All-Star Game appearance overall.

The 2012 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Amway Center in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Joining Howard in the Eastern Conference starting lineup at the forward position are the Miami Heat’s LeBron James (1,360,680), the 2006 and 2008 All-Star Game MVP, and the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony (1,041,290). The starters for the East at guard are the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose (1,514,723) and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade (1,334,223), the 2010 All-Star Game MVP.

Kobe Bryant, who joins Hall of Famer Bob Pettit (1956, 1958, 1959 and 1962) as the only four-time All-Star Game MVPs in NBA history, is joined in the Western Conference starting backcourt by the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (1,138,743). The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (1,345,566) and the Clippers’ Blake Griffin (876,451), making his first All-Star Game start, are the starting forwards. The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, a first-time All-Star, gets the nod at center (1,051,945). This marks the first time since 1997 (Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, and Seattle’s Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton) that two pair of teammates have been voted to start for one conference.

The 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint, allowed fans around the world the opportunity to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.