LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo are likely captains for Feb. 7 televised NBA All-Star draft

The NBA will officially cap its Feb. 7 trade deadline day with a televised All-Star draft.

The NBA switched last year from the traditional Eastern vs. Western conferences format to naming a pair of captains who then select teams from the pool of starters and reserves. The leading vote-getter from each conference is named a captain, and they can select anyone from either side of the league. The NBA drew some criticism when last year’s draft was conducted on a private conference call. Even captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry later agreed that the draft should have been televised.

Plans to correct that misstep have been in motion for months, and the NBA made them official on Thursday, announcing that TNT will host the “NBA All-Star Draft Show” on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. EST.

James and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead fan voting in the West and East, respectively, making them heavy favorites to be the captains for this year’s game in Charlotte on Feb 17. Fan voting concludes on Monday, when media and player votes are also due. Starters will be announced on Jan. 24, and the reserves — selected by the league’s coaches — will be named a week later. Captains must first pick from the pool of starters before picking through the reserves, all regardless of conference.

There was some concern from players that the draft order might hurt somebody’s feelings. Carmelo Anthony was most vocal about the potential downside of televising the draft, and the players’ association reportedly backed him on it. Russell Westbrook actually did get mad when he thought he was picked last in the 2018 draft, but then it turned out to be LaMarcus Aldridge, and nobody minded.

“We’re all All-Stars, so, at the end of the day, we should be thankful to be here,” Aldridge told Chris Haynes in February 2018. “Picked first, picked last, it doesn’t matter. We’re all competitive, too. It won’t be the easiest thing to be picked last, but at the end of the day, you’re just happy to be here.”

In coordination with the televised draft announcement, the NBA also released the third round of fan voting returns, which account for 50 percent of All-Star votes, with the media and players splitting the other half. Two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference will make up the 10 starters.

Here are the complete results from the third round of fan voting, as released by the NBA:

Western Conference

Frontcourt

1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (3,770,807)
2. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks (3,301,825)
3. Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder (2,583,342)
4. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors (2,432,134)
5. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans (2,091,770)
6. Steven Adams, Thunder (1,483,223)
7. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets (1,128,766)
8. Kyle Kuzma, Lakers (899,237)
9. Draymond Green, Warriors (660,276)
10. DeMarcus Cousins, Warriors (450,480)

Guards

1. Stephen Curry, Warriors (2,979,080)
2. Derrick Rose, Minnesota Timberwolves (2,712,938)
3. James Harden, Houston Rockets (2,315,093)
4. Russell Westbrook, Thunder (2,090,432)
5. Klay Thompson, Warriors (1,120,675)
6. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (851,125)
7. DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs (850,415)
8. Lonzo Ball, Lakers (764,892)
9. Chris Paul, Rockets (419,410)
10. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (405,432)

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (3,626,909)
2. Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors (2,882,227)
3. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (2,292,511)
4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (826,177)
5. Jimmy Butler, 76ers (740,778)
6. Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons (677,472)
7. Vince Carter, Atlanta Hawks (423,795)
9. Pascal Siakam, Raptors (338,716)
8. Gordon Hayward, Celtics (336,476)
10. Al Horford, Celtics (291,722)

Guards

1. Kyrie Irving, Celtics (3,187,015)
2. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (1,738,043)
3. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets (1,156,040)
4. Ben Simmons, 76ers (941,368)
5. Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers (778,983)
6. Kyle Lowry, Raptors (708,071)
7. Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls (440,568)
8. Jeremy Lin, Hawks (341,024)
9. Goran Dragic, Miami Heat (335,899)
10. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards (251,170)

Each fan vote, which can be cast on Google and on NBA.com, will count twice on Jan. 21.

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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

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