NBA-All-Star voting tweaked to avoid bias towards big names

Dec 19 (Reuters) - The NBA All-Star voting process has been tweaked in what appears to be an effort to encourage selection of players based on form rather than reputation. Players previously were chosen entirely by fans, a situation that last season, for example, led to the selection of veteran Dwyane Wade, even though by his own high standards he was having a relatively mediocre season for the Miami Heat. This season, selection will be based on voting by fans (50 percent), players (25 percent) and media (25 percent), the National Basketball Association announced on Monday. The All-Star Game will be played in New Orleans on Feb. 19. All-Star weekend was originally scheduled for Charlotte, North Carolina, but was moved by the NBA in response to that state's controversial legislation forcing transgender people to use public restrooms matching their gender assigned at birth. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry Fine)