SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry has slipped from his top spot in the All-Star voting.
Latest returns show Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has passed Curry in the West by a significant margin. James closed in on Curry’s 77,034-vote lead and now leads Curry by 808,031 votes in the third round. James has 6,827,449 votes to Curry’s 6,019,418.
The top vote-getter in the West and East conference is elected team captain. Fan voting ends on Saturday at 9 p.m. PT and starters are announced Thursday, Jan. 27. If the voting holds, James would represent the West as team captain and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant — currently out with a sprained knee — would be the East’s captain.
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins remains in line to be selected a starter, too. With 2,644,571 votes, he sits third in the frontcourt voting behind James and Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
“Wiggs is having a fantastic year shooting the three so well,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “defending the toughest offensive player night after night and making accommodations to our style and for his teammates and blending in beautifully. I have no doubt he’s an All-Star player. My fingers are crossed that he makes it because it would be a great honor for him and I know how much he would appreciate it.”
Klay Thompson, who had collected a good number of votes before returning from his Achilles and ACL injuries, is inching higher in the ranks. Among guards, he sits behind Curry, Memphis’ Ja Morant and Dallas’ Luka Doncic for fourth with 1,240,781 votes.
Draymond Green, out with a lower back injury, remains in the frontcourt mix as sixth in voting. Between Green and Wiggins are Clippers’ Paul George and Lakers’ Anthony Davis.
Fan vote accounts for half of the final vote for All-Star starters. The other half is split between media and fellow players, which could bump Thompson — who has only played five games this year — out of the game. All-Star reserves are voted on by NBA coaches and will be announced Feb. 3.
The All-Star Game will be held in Cleveland on Feb. 20.
