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Anthony Edwards among West leaders in first wave of All-Star fan voting

Edwards is just outside the top five in the Western Conference in the first fan voting returns.
Will Ragatz|
Dec 25, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Dec 25, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves superstar guard Anthony Edwards is just outside the top five among Western Conference players in the first returns of fan voting for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

Edwards has received a hair over 650,000 fan votes in the first wave, according to numbers released by the league. That ranks sixth among West players and 12th overall. Led by Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, seven players have received at least 1 million votes thus far.

Edwards is well on his way to earning a fourth consecutive All-Star nod. Prior to Monday night's game in Chicago, he's averaged a career-high 29.3 points per game through 25 contests, which ranks eighth in the NBA. Take out an early 5-point game where he got injured after just three minutes, and Edwards' scoring average would go up to 30.3 (which would rank fourth). He's shooting 49 percent from the field, nearly 40 percent from three on high volume, and 81 percent at the line.

As always, five All-Star starters in each conference will be determined by voting from fans (50 percent), players (25 percent), and media members (25 percent). Edwards hasn't yet been selected as an All-Star starter, but he may have a decent shot at it this year. Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander feel like locks, which leaves two spots for Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Steph Curry, or anyone else in the West. One thing that's new this year is that positions do not matter in the selection process. Coaches will then select seven All-Star reserves for each conference.

With that said, the format of the 2026 All-Star Game (Feb. 15 at the Clippers' Intuit Dome) isn't the traditional East vs. West, so the starter and reserve designations are just for the selection process. At least 16 players will make up two U.S. teams and at least 8 players will make up a World team, and those three squads will each play two round-robin 12-minute games to lead to a championship game. Point differential is the tiebreaker if each team is 1-1.

It's an interesting idea, but the reality is that the World team is going to be absolutely stacked. Luka, SGA, Giannis, Wemby, and Jokic is almost certainly the starting lineup for that group, and an argument can be made that those are the five best players on the planet.

Edwards is one of a handful of players with an argument as the best current American player in the NBA. It should be fun watching him and whoever else is on his team take on that juggernaut international lineup at least once.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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