Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets top the Western Conference, while LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the second returns of 2010 NBA All-Star Balloting.
Bryant, a three-time All-Star MVP, is the overall leader with 1,380,383 votes, while James, a two-time All-Star MVP, is second overall with 1,351,292.
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 ? the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game ? on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.
In the Western Conference, Bryant, who shared the MVP award with Shaquille O?Neal in last year?s All-Star Game and who also garnered the honor in 2002 and 2007, is followed at guard by the Phoenix Suns? Steve Nash (546,064).
Anthony paces forwards in the West (1,204,234) with the Dallas Mavericks? Dirk Nowitzki (668,243) second. The Suns? Amar?e Stoudemire (950,737) is the leading vote-getter among Western Conference centers, with the Lakers? Andrew Bynum (588,471) following.
The guards in the Eastern Conference are paced by Wade (1,314,215), followed by the Philadelphia 76ers? Allen Iverson (635,084). While Iverson appears among Western Conference guards on the paper ballot because he began the season with Memphis, his votes count towards the Eastern Conference guards due to his signing with Philadelphia Dec. 3.
James, a two-time All-Star MVP (2006, 2008), paces Eastern Conference forwards with 1,351,292 votes, followed by the Boston Celtics? Kevin Garnett (1,113,213), MVP of the 2003 All-Star Game. The Orlando Magic?s Dwight Howard leads all centers with 1,252,786 votes; the Cavaliers? O?Neal is second among centers in the East (455,239).