The 2026 All-Star Game will feature a new format where American All-Stars compete against a World team in a round-robin tournament. And while Steph Curry isn’t the leading vote-getter in the Western Conference, he is the leading American vote-getter. USA! USA!
Slovenian guard Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers leads all players with 1.25M votes, followed by Nikola
Jokic of Serbia/Denver Nuggets, Curry, then Canadian Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and French center Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Look, we don’t care about where these great players come from, but clearly NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes that nationalistic fervor will make the NBA All-Star Game competitive again.
Curry would be one of the official “starters,” though there will actually be two eight-man American teams and an eight-man international team. So, the top five players in each conference, regardless of position, will be considered starters, then NBA coaches will pick seven reserves in each conference, and then Adam Silver will add Americans or international players as needed.
Thankfully, the NBA has made sure its new format remains off-putting and confusing, though not quite as confusing as last year’s setup featuring multiple teams of “Rising Stars” and G-Leaguers. We’d also like to take this opportunity to again urge the NBA to let players wear their regular team jerseys, so fans can tell the players apart.
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (for now) leads all Eastern Conference players, followed somewhat surprisingly by Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers. Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks is third, then Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Team World is looking quite a bit taller than Team USA so far, considering the East has a lineup of four American guards, three of whom are shorter than Curry.
Jimmy Butler is the only other Warrior in the top 20 of the West vote, checking in at No. 17 with roughly 111K votes. There are three Lakers in the top 10, with LeBron James and Austin Reaves at No. 9 and No. 10. Deni Avdija’s No. 7 position is a surprise, though not undeserved, while the Warriors’ old friend Kevin Durant is eighth and their potential new friend Anthony Davis is at No. 13. Future Warrior Michael Porter, Jr. is 10th in the East,
The New York Knicks are well-represented with five players in the top 16 of the Eastern Conference vote, riding the wave of the nation’s NBA Cup fever. But the voters have really spread the love, including players from 14 of the East’s 15 teams — sorry Washington Wizards! The 76ers have two players in the top 20 with Joel Embiid at No. 17, while Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic are Nos. 19 and 20.
The fan voting only counts for half of the formula to determine the starting lineups, combined with the player vote and media vote, each worth 25%. Luckily, Curry is a two-time recipient of the Magic Johnson Award, given out by the Pro Basketball Writers Association to the player who is most professional and cooperative with the media while excelling on the court.
In other words, welcome to Team USA, Steph Curry! Well, one of them at least.
