Lebron James continues to lead in NBA All-Star fan voting

WASHINGTON - LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks continued to lead the West and East Conference in the second returns of NBA All-Star voting Thursday.

James leads all players with 2,779,812 votes while East Conference leader Antetokounmpo takes second place with 2,670,816.

In the Western Conference, James is followed by Dallas Mavericks' rookie Luka Doncic. Kevin Durant, who was originally in third place, has been displaced by Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George, who earned 1,859,216 votes in the latest returns. Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Minnesota Timberwolves' Derrick Rose retain their places as the top two guards in the west.

In the Eastern Conference, Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard continues to trail Antetokounmpo in second place, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid. Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving leads the guards in East as Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade follows behind.

The 68th NBA All-Star Game will take place on February 17 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ten starters of the competition will be decided by the voting which concludes on January 21. Fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the vote, while all current NBA players and a media panel each make up 25 percent of the voting results.