Members of Team LeBron line up prior to the NBA All-Star Game 2018 at Staples Center on Feb. 18, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
This season’s NBA All-Star voting will be sponsored by, and in part conducted by, Google. The league announced a new multi-year agreement that begins with the opening of voting on Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. ET. prior to a five-game Christmas Day showcase on ABC and ESPN.
Fans will still be able to vote via the NBA app and website but now will have the option to cast ballots via Google Assistant and the Google search engine. People can cue Google Assistant by saying, “Google, talk to NBA All-Star,” and then follow the prompts. Searches for “NBA Vote,” “NBA All-Star Vote,” or for any team or player will load a voting system on Google’s website.
Voting concludes at the end of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 21. Fans can vote once per day, although their ballots will count double on five designated two-for-one days: Jan. 3, 4, 10, 11, and 21. Fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the decision, with players and media each accounting for 25 percent of the weighted electorate.
All-Star captains and starters will be announced on Jan. 24, and reserves will be determined on Jan. 31. Captains will then choose their teammates in the same style as a pick-up basketball game, just like last year when LeBron James and Steph Curry divvied up the squads.
