Spurs Star Victor Wembanyama Holds Place in Latest All-Star Fan Returns

SAN ANTONIO — With four days of fan voting remaining, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is in good position to secure a spot in the newly revamped NBA All-Star Weekend.

This season, the league is doing away with starters and reserves, instead opting for a pool of 24 players split evenly into three teams drafted by Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barley and Kenny Smith. As it stands, Wembanyama — who sits at fourth place in the Western Conference Frontcourt — will likely be joining the festivities for the first time of his career.

If it were up to his teammates, he'd already be a lock.

“Put him in the All-Star game,” Chris Paul said. “He deserves it, man. He plays the game the right way ... going to be Defensive Player of the Year. He’s got an opportunity to do it for 20 years straight."

Currently in front of Wembanyama in the West are Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Phoenix Suns front man Kevin Durant. In the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns are pacing the pack.

The full returns are as follows:

The NBA announced the third fan returns for All-Star Weekend Thursday afternoon. San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama currently sits at No. 4 in the Western Conference Frontcourt | Graphic via NBA Communications

The fan vote counts for 50 percent of the final All-Star results, while the players and approved media count for another 25 percent each. After the first fan returns, Wembanyama moved up from fifth place to fourth, and since remained there. He's 1-of-8 players with at least two million votes.

"He's continued to progress and improved in his two years with us," Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. "He should be happy that he's (potentially) getting recognized for that."

NBA All-Star voting concludes on Monday, Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m. Both Friday and Monday are the final two “3-for-1 Days,” when each fan vote counts three times, and if the trends continue, it looks like those will again fall in Wembanyama's favor.

The final results will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 23.

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