NBA All-Star voting takeaways: LaMelo Ball got more love from fans than the media
The starting lineups for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco were unveiled and we learned some interesting notes in the process.
There were a few notable snubs from the starting five (including LaMelo Ball) and those players will have to earn an All-Star nod based on voting from coaches in their conference.
But the NBA is incredibly transparent about how the decisions were made. Each score is weighted based on 50 percent for the fan vote, 25 percent for the player vote, and 25 percent for the media vote.
The league office releases exactly how many votes each player received from the fans, other players, and select media.
We separated the publicly-available data and isolated how every player in the league performed in each category using the number of votes received rather than rank. Then we sorted results using standardization to determine where individuals performed better than they did in other categories.
One interesting takeaway is that the biggest difference was how much voting Ball for from fans relative to how little he got from the media. You can read more about this from Stephen Noh on Sporting News. Ball finished with the most among East guards by fans but seventh by media.
If he had received two more votes from media he would have earned a spot in the starting lineup.
Otherwise, the largest difference in the results was how much voting Kevin Durant received from other players compared to how little he got from the media.
He ranked second among West forwards by his fellow peers and fifth by the media. His tenuous relationship with the media is well-documented but he is someone who clearly has the respect of his NBA colleagues.
On the other hand, however, another significant difference was the love that Donovan Mitchell got from the media compared to the fans. Perhaps there is simply not a strong voting presence in the small market of Cleveland, but the media helped Mitchell secure a spot in the starting lineup.
Stronger voting from players than media
Kevin Durant (PHX)
LeBron James (LAL)
Evan Mobley (CLE)
LaMelo Ball (CHA)
Trae Young (ATL)
Paolo Banchero (ORL)
Jaylen Brown (BOS)
Kyrie Irving (DAL)
Stronger voting from players than fans
Evan Mobley (CLE)
Jalen Brunson (NYK)
Donovan Mitchell (CLE)
Darius Garland (CLE)
Devin Booker (PHX)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)
Trae Young (ATL)
Joel Embiid (PHI)
Stronger voting from fans than media
LaMelo Ball (CHA)
Kevin Durant (PHX)
LeBron James (LAL)
Paolo Banchero (ORL)
Luka Doncic (DAL)
Damian Lillard (MIL)
Kyrie Irving (DAL)
Jaylen Brown (BOS)
Stronger voting from fans than players
Victor Wembanyama (SAS)
Luka Doncic (DAL)
Damian Lillard (MIL)
Anthony Davis (LAL)
LaMelo Ball (CHA)
Alperen Sengun (HOU)
James Harden (LAC)
Jimmy Butler (MIA)
Stronger voting from media than players
Victor Wembanyama (SAS)
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)
Donovan Mitchell (CLE)
Jalen Brunson (NYK)
Jayson Tatum (BOS)
, Anthony Davis (LAL)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)
Nikola Jokic (DEN)
Stronger voting from media than fans
Donovan Mitchell (CLE)
Jalen Brunson (NYK)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)
Jayson Tatum (BOS)
Nikola Jokic (DEN)
Victor Wembanyama (SAS)
Anthony Edwards (MIN)
More NBA!
Fans are too unserious to have more power in NBA All-Star voting
10 NBA Paris Games 2025 photos of celebs sitting courtside, including CeeDee Lamb
Here is how fans, media, and players voted for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game
NBA All-Star Game starters: All 10 starting in 2025, including a surprising Jalen Brunson pick
Biggest snubs from the NBA All-Star Game starting lineups, including LaMelo Ball
This article originally appeared on For The Win: NBA All-Star voting takeaways: LaMelo Ball got more love from fans than the media