Multiple Lakers Land in Top 10 of First All-Star Fan Vote Returns

Dec 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is defended by Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford (5) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

A whopping three Los Angeles Lakers stars have landed among the top 10 in Western Conference fan vote recipients during the first wave of voting returns.

Five-time All-NBA Lakers guard Luka Doncic, hot off a 34-point masterpiece in a 125-101 victory against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, topped all overall fan votes with 1,249,518.

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Nine-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo received the second-most fan votes to top the Eastern Conference candidates, with 1,192,296.

Lakers' Luka Doncic and Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the NBA's first 2025-26 All-Star fan voting returns: pic.twitter.com/no0xNHMuXD

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 29, 2025

Two other Lakers landed within the top 10 in the West. 21-time All-NBA forward LeBron James nabbed 536,555 — the ninth-most — while guard Austin Reaves earned the tenth-most, with 405,379 votes. Reaves was well on his way to earning an All-Star nod, even if he wasn't going to be named a starter. Fan votes are counted towards 50 percent of the overall tally, while the remaining 50 percent is split between players and media. Coaches vote on the All-Star bench.

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Now, however, Reaves will sit out at least the next four weeks with a reaggravated calf injury, and that extended absence combined with the games he's already missed should effectively doom him from playing enough contests to be considered.

James, too, missed the first month of the season with a sciatica injury, and as the Lakers' clear No. 3 man behind both Doncic and Reaves, the 41-year-old seems unlikely to make the grade either as a starter or a bench guy, for the first time since his 2003-04 rookie season.

Other Top Vote Recipients

The fan voting elsewhere is fairly astute.

There aren't any egregiously overvalued names here. Three-time MVP Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (1,128,962 fan votes), former two-time MVP Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (1,031,455), reigning MVP Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (878,621) and All-Star San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (769,362) round out the West's top five vote recipients.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey (1,072,449 fan votes), New York Knicks All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson (1,040,601), Detroit Pistons All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham (1,000,171), and Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (851,155) fill out the East's top five.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.