LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic of Serbia continued to lead all vote-getters in returns released Thursday for starting spots in next month’s National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game.

Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s leading scorer and a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, topped the Eastern Conference frontcourt voting with 2,721,339 while Jokic paced the Western Conference frontcourt with 2,277,723 votes.

Fan voting counts 50 percent in deciding starters for the February 16 contest in San Francisco, with a media panel and current NBA players each accounting for 25 percent of final totals.

All-Star Game starters will be revealed on 23 January.

The NBA has changed the format for the 2025 matchup with a four-team tournament replacing the old two-team system. Squads picked by Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will be joined by the Rising Stars Challenge winners, guided by Women’s NBA legend Candace Parker.

Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued to lead Western Conference guard with 1,811,050 votes while Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball remained atop Eastern Conference guards with 1,490,227 votes.

Jayson Tatum of the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics was third in overall voting and second in the East frontcourt behind Antetokounmpo with 2,224,086 votes with New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns third on 1,872,228.