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Giannis Antetokounmpo on track to become East captain in All-Star Game for third time in his career

Giannis Antetokounmpo is having yet another incredible season for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Matthew Dugandzic|
Giannis Antetokounmpo on track to become East captain in All-Star Game for third time in his career
Giannis Antetokounmpo on track to become East captain in All-Star Game for third time in his career

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Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is on pace to become the captain of the Eastern Conference's All-Star team after the latest update regarding the number of fan votes showed the Greak Freak overtaking erstwhile leader Kevin Durant.

Latest voting returns

The NBA released the latest round of voting returns for the All-Star Game in Utah, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was at the top of the list in the Eastern Conference with 5,970,196 votes. He is followed by Kevin Durant, who has 5,838 182 votes. The player with the most votes in each conference will be named the captain for the All-Star Game on February 19th.

Fans, though, can still cast their votes until Saturday. The Association will announce the captains and complete list of starters for each conference on January 26th. Fan votes comprise 50% while media (25%) and players (25%) comprise the other half of what determines the starters.

In search of Giannis' first win as captain

If Giannis does become the East's All-Star Game captain for a third time, he'll be looking to lead his team to victory in the All-Star game for the first time. The Bucks superstar was a captain in both 2019 and 2020, but he lost both times to teams captained by Lakers great LeBron James.

The more thrilling of the two games came in 2020 when Team LeBron edged Team Giannis, 157-155. It was an incredible game that saw the score go back and forth all the way until the end, when Anthony Davis sank a free-throw to secure the victory.

The other time Team Giannis met Team LeBron, the latter won in rather convincing fashion, 178-164.

Giannis is looking for revenge and redemption this year, and if he's indeed named captain of the East squad, there will be a great opportunity for him to do so on the grandest stage of them all.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.