Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat top the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Western Conference after the first returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting. Howard is the overall leader with 754,737 votes.

Howard paces centers in the East, followed by the Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah (75,038). James leads Eastern Conference forwards with 640,789 votes, followed by Carmelo Anthony (496,351) of the New York Knicks. Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls leads Eastern Conference guards with 640,476 votes (fourth overall for all players), followed by Miami’s Dwyane Wade (637,912).

Bryant’s 690,613 votes leads Western Conference guards, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul placing second (540,173). Durant’s 633,538 votes lead forwards in the West, with Blake Griffin of the Clippers next in line with 394,264 votes. The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum paces Western Conference centers with 496,597 votes, followed by the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (134,961).

The NBA announced the 2012 All-Star Ballot on Wednesday.

The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media who regularly cover the NBA: Bill Simmons (Grantland), Sekou Smith (NBA.com), Doug Smith (Toronto Star/PBWA), and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustrated). 

The following is a team-by-team list:

Atlanta (4): Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Josh Smith

Boston (5): Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass

Charlotte (4): D.J. Augustin, Kemba Walker, Boris Diaw, Corey Maggette

Chicago (5): Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Richard Hamilton

Cleveland (3): Kyrie Irving, Antwan Jamison, Anderson Varejao

Dallas (5): Dirk Nowitzki, Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry

Denver (5): Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Andre Miller, Nene, Danilo Gallinari

Detroit (4): Greg Monroe, Rodney Stuckey, Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince

Golden State (3): Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, David Lee

Houston (4): Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Samuel Dalembert

Indiana (6): David West, Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Darren Collison

L.A. Clippers (4): Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, DeAndre Jordan

L.A. Lakers (4): Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Metta World Peace

Memphis (4): Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley

Miami (4): LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony

Milwaukee (3): Andrew Bogut, Brandon Jennings, Stephen Jackson

Minnesota (3): Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Ricky Rubio

New Jersey (3): Deron Williams, Kris Humphries, Anthony Morrow

New Orleans (4): Eric Gordon, Carl Landry, Chris Kaman, Emeka Okafor

New York (3): Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler

Oklahoma City (5): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins

Orlando (4): Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu

Philadelphia (5): Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes

Phoenix (3): Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Marcin Gortat

Portland (6): LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby, Nicolas Batum

Sacramento (3): Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton

San Antonio (3): Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili

Toronto (3): Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, Jose Calderon

Utah (4): Derrick Favors, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Devin Harris

Washington (4): John Wall, Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche