Fan voting returns for second time at 2024-25 NBA All-Star Game. Damian Lillard Ranks third among Eastern Conference guards behind LaMelo Ball Donovan Mitchell. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is urging fans to vote as the Milwaukee guard looks to be named to his ninth All-Star selection.

The Greek Freak posted a photo of himself and Lillard on the court on his Instagram Story Thursday morning, urging fans to vote for his Milwaukee partner.

In response, Lillard posted Antetokounmpo’s story on his own, adding:

“Sir, open me up, haha”

Lillard finished second with just over 161,500 votes, while Antetokounmpo not only led the Eastern Conference frontcourt voting, but also led all players around the league in fan voting.

Starting players for both teams are chosen based on votes from fans, NBA players and media. Reserve players are then selected based on a vote of league coaches, with seven reserve players selected from each league.

Ahead of February’s All-Star break, TNT will announce the starters on January 23, followed by the reserves on January 30 during the TNT NBA Tip-Off show.

A look at Damian Lillard’s All-Star selection this season

As mentioned before, Damian Lillard currently ranks third among guards in the Eastern Conference. With LaMelo Ball leading Lillard by nearly 500,000 votes and Donovan Mitchell by more than 300,000 votes, it seems likely that he will make his second All-Star selection.

The question now is whether Damian Lillard can leapfrog Donovan Mitchell and secure an All-Star start, or whether he must hope for a bench spot.

If the current standings hold and Donovan Mitchell earns the second starting guard spot in the Eastern Conference, Lillard will still have a strong case for a ninth All-Star appearance.

Lillard averaged 24.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Meanwhile, his field goal percentage and 3-point shooting have improved from last year while helping Milwaukee rise to fifth in the Eastern Conference after a slow start to the season.

According to fan voting, like Lillard, Jaylen Brunson and Trae Young In one case, he was selected as an Eastern Conference All-Star backup guard. Brunson helped the Knicks rank third in the Eastern Conference, averaging 25.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 47.7% from the field.

As for Young, although the Hawks are ninth in the Eastern Conference, Young leads the league with 12.2 assists per game, a significant jump from last season’s 10.8 assists per game. In addition, Young averaged 22.6 points and 1.3 steals per game and shot 40.1% from the field.

With that in mind, while Damian Lillard has every reason to be drafted as the Eastern Conference guard, there’s obviously some stiff competition.