New York Knicks forward Julius Randle climbed one spot in the penultimate result of the NBA All-Star fan voting, even as Derrick Rose remained at no. 9 among Eastern Conference guards.
It’s still a shock that Jalen Brunson, enjoying a career year in his first season with the Knicks, remained outside the top 10 guards in the East.
Randle dislodged Brooklyn Nets’ starting center Nic Claxton from the ninth spot with 372,093 votes. But Claxton is not far behind at no. 10 with 371,090 votes.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (5,970,196) vaulted past the injured Kevin Durant (5,838,182) of the Nets for the top spot in the Eastern Conference frontcourt. Durant’s Nets co-star Kyrie Irving (3,968,041) maintained his no. 1 ranking among Eastern Conference guards with a lead of more than 100,000 votes over Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (3,851,233).
Out west, LeBron James and Stephen Curry remained on top of their respective positions.
Randle’s case to gain his second All-Star berth in three years is his third-most double-doubles (28) this season behind Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis (33) and MVP favorite Nikola Jokic (32) of the Denver Nuggets. The 28-year-old Knicks forward is currently on a 12-game streak of double-doubles.
Randle extended his streak of 15-rebound games to six during the Knicks’ 116-105 loss to the Washington Wizards Wednesday night.
| OPPONENT | POINTS | REBOUNDS |
| vs Wizards (loss) | 14 | 15 |
| vs Raptors (loss) | 21 | 15 |
| vs Pistons (win) | 42 | 15 |
| vs Wizards (win) | 23 | 16 |
| vs Pacers (win) | 14 | 16 |
| vs Bucks (loss) | 25 | 16 |
He is averaging career-highs in points (24.2) and rebounds (10.7), while his turnovers from the past two seasons, including his All-Star year in 2021, have gone down to 2.7 this season.
With the Knicks starting center Mitchell Robinson likely out for an extended period due to a sprained right thumb, Randle is expected to continue his monster effort on the boards.
Fans account for 50 percent of the votes to decide the All-Star starters, which will be revealed on Jan. 26 during the NBA telecast on TNT. Fan votes will count three times Friday during the last 3-for-1 Day as voting ends on Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Fans can vote through the NBA App and NBA.com.
The remaining 50 percent will come from the votes of NBA players (25%) and select media members (25%). The reserves will be determined by the NBA coaches, while the league will choose roster replacements in case of injuries.
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