NBA All-Star voting: How the media, fans and players differed in their 2023 picks

The starting lineups for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Utah were officially announced, and the results were fascinating.

There were a few notable snubs from the starting five (including Joel Embiid) and some fans were surprised that Zion Williamson got the nod over Anthony Davis.

Thankfully, however, the NBA is incredibly transparent about how the decisions were made. Each score is weighted based on 50 percent for the fan vote, 25 percent for the player vote, and 25 percent for the media vote.

The league office releases exactly how many votes each player received from the fans, other players, and select media.

For The Win separated the publicly-available data and isolated how every player in the league performed in each category using the exact number of votes received rather than rank, then sorted the results to determine where individuals tended to perform better than they did in other categories.

PLAYER VOTE

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The player vote is always the most fascinating to evaluate because those who are actually on the court have such a different perspective on stardom. These results suggest the players may favor tangible skills that they saw during the games.

For example, players voted for those around the league with an elite one-on-one scoring ability (e.g. Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Damian Lillard) at a higher rate than the media did. They also seemed to prefer a strong defensive presence (e.g. Bam Adebayo and Jaren Jackson Jr.) more than fans did.

It is also noteworthy that the media voted for Irving at a much lower rate than the players did, which could have something to do with the fact Irving missed several games due to a team-issued suspension.

Stronger voting presence from players than the media

1. Kyrie Irving (BKN)
2. DeMar DeRozan (CHI)
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL)
4. Bam Adebayo (MIA)
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)
6. Lauri Markkanen (UTA)
7. De’Aaron Fox (SAC)
8. Damian Lillard (POR)
9. Paul George (LAC)
10. Devin Booker (PHX)

 

Stronger voting presence from players than the fans

1. Nikola Jokic (DEN)
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL)
3. Bam Adebayo (MIA)
4. Lauri Markkanen (UTA)
5. Domantas Sabonis (SAC)
6. De’Aaron Fox (SAC)
7. Devin Booker (PHX)
8. Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM)
9. Christian Wood (DAL)
10. Jerami Grant (POR)

Fan Vote

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The fan vote doesn’t require much of a microscope to dissect. Players on big market teams like the Lakers and Warriors performed much better with fans than they did with the media.

Another interesting takeaway, however, is that some of the players who have missed significant time this season due to injury (e.g. Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, Stephen Curry, and Paul George) performed much better with the fan vote than they did with the media or with other players.

Stronger voting presence from fans than the media

1. Anthony Davis (LAL)
2. Kyrie Irving (BKN)
3. Andrew Wiggins (GSW)
4. Zion Williamson (NOP)
5. James Harden (PHI)
6. Stephen Curry (GSW)
7. Paul George (LAC)
8. Trae Young (ATL)
9. Kevin Durant (BKN)
10. Klay Thompson (GSW)

 

Stronger voting presence from the fans than the players

1. Anthony Davis (LAL)
2. Andrew Wiggins (GSW)
3. Stephen Curry (GSW)
4. Zion Williamson (NOP)
5. Klay Thompson (GSW)
6. Trae Young (ATL)
7. James Harden (PHI)
8. Russell Westbrook (LAL)
9. Kevon Looney (GSW)
10. Paul George (LAC)

Media Vote

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The media vote was a bit closer to a consensus; only 26 players received any votes whatsoever to appear in the starting lineup for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.

Several players who performed better with the media vote than the player vote or the fan vote come from smaller markets (e.g. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton).

It is also interesting that Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both performed significantly better with the media vote than they did for the player vote and the fan vote.

Stronger voting presence from the media than players

1. Donovan Mitchell (CLE)
2. Luka Doncic (DAL)
3. Domantas Sabonis (SAC)
4. Jaylen Brown (BOS)
5. Jayson Tatum (BOS)
6. Tyrese Haliburton (IND)
7. LeBron James (LAL)
8. Ja Morant (MEM)

 

Stronger voting presence from the media than the fans

1. Donovan Mitchell (CLE)
2. Domantas Sabonis (SAC)
3. Nikola Jokic (DEN)
4. Luka Doncic (DAL)
5. Jaylen Brown (BOS)
6. Tyrese Haliburton (IND)
7. Jayson Tatum (BOS)
8. Ja Morant (MEM)
9. Joel Embiid (PHI)