All Knicks

Knicks Struggle to Make Ground in All-Star Vote

The New York Knicks are trying to send multiple men to the NBA All-Star Game.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) blocks a shot by Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) in front of Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) blocks a shot by Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) in front of Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
In this story:

New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are taking on their biggest opponents yet: NBA All-Star Game voters.

Despite their recent success, Brunson and Towns have apparently struggled to leave an impact on fan voters: both stayed stationed in their respective slots in the release of the second returns on Thursday. Towns is third in the Eastern Conference's front court picture while Brunson is fourth in the backcourt.

Fan vote accounts for 50 percent of the final All-Star vote tally with the other half evenly split between a media and player panel.

Though there was little major movement in this week's fan vote, it's perhaps still surprising to see the Knicks' representatives struggle to make up ground. While the Knicks no longer carry a lengthy winning streak (their most recent plateaued at nine before they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder last Friday), Brunson and Towns continue to make strides on the floor.

New York received an uncomfortable reminder of Towns' impact on Monday night when they dropped a 103-94 decision to the severely shorthanded Orlando Magic. Towns, December's Eastern Conference Player of the Month, did not play due to a knee injury sustained in the penultimate minute of a Saturday showing in Chicago. He returned on Wednesday night and posted a 27-point, 13-rebound double-double in a 112-98 win over Toronto.

With just over 1.8 million votes, Towns sits behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) and Jayson Tatum (Boston) in the East's backcourt tally. Antetokounmpo and Tatum are one of three men to put up two million votes so far, joined by Nikola Jokic (Denver) in the West.

In terms of Eastern happenings, LaMelo Ball (Charlotte) continues to maintain his surprising lead among Eastern guards (1.49 million votes) ahead of Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland, 1.18 million), Damian Lillard (Milwaukee, 1.01 million) and Brunson (over 934,000).

Evan Mobley (Cleveland) was the big mover in the East, going up from tenth to eighth in the frontcourt vote. Cade Cunningham (Detroit) continue his own breakout campaign and moved ahead of Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia) for sixth in the backcourt.

Brunson, Towns, and their fellow Knicks will have a big opportunity to make their cases this weekend: the aforementioned Thunder, featuring leading Western backcourt man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, visit Madison Square Garden for a rematch on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV) while Antetokounmpo and Bucks come by for a Sunday matinee.

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Published
Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

Home/News