Luka Doncic and Giannis Dominate All Star Voting

Merlin sees Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting atop the early All Star fan returns, with Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Victor Wembanyama also near the summit. With the game set for Feb 15 at the Intuit Dome and a new Olympic style format that sends two United States teams and one international team into a round robin, the voting leaderboard has turned into a map of international stars ready to suit up together. Merlin notes the irony and the opportunity. The league has never had so many non American superstars leading fan votes at once, so the international squad could be more than a novelty. Depth will still matter for the U S squads, but chemistry and star power give the internationals a real shot at the crown.