ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Magic forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner each placed in the top 10 for Eastern Conference frontcourt players in the NBA’s first returns of All-Star fan voting, released by the NBA on Thursday afternoon.
Banchero has totaled the 4th-most votes for East frontcourt players, recording 484,906 votes. Wagner has the 7th-most in the first returns, tallying 221,787 votes. Ballots have been open since the morning of Dec. 19, 2024 and can be submitted until Jan. 20, 2025.
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Banchero trails Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (leading vote-getter), Boston’s Jayson Tatum and New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns for one of the top three frontcourt spots. After Banchero in fourth, Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Miami’s Jimmy Butler check in fifth and sixth ahead of Wagner in seventh.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Paul George are eighth and ninth, while Cleveland’s Evan Mobley rounds out the top 10.
Fan account for 50 percent of the vote to determine starters for the All-Star game, which is under a new format this year. Current players and a media panel each account for 25 percent.
The next fan voting update will release on Jan. 9, the league said.
Banchero has missed more than two months after suffering a torn right oblique on Oct. 30 at Chicago. Five games into his third NBA season, Banchero was averaging 29.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 36.4 minutes a night. He notched the NBA’s first 50-point game on Oct. 28 versus Indiana and was a first-time All-Star in 2024.
He’s nearing a return, with the latest being he’s taking light contact after telling locker room reporters that his muscle is healed. Banchero is now considered to be in the return to competition reconditioning phase of his work back onto the court.
Wagner is also out with a torn right oblique, an ailment he sustained Dec. 6 at Philadelphia. Wagner fulfilled the No.1. role in the Magic offense substantially in Banchero’s absence, and he’s averaging 24.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists through 25 games this season.
After his diagnosis, the team said his initial re-evaluation phase would come after four weeks. That comes this upcoming weekend.
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Banchero has missed 30 games this season, Wagner 10.
But their stellar performances have caught the attention of fans around the league, and they have the voter recognition to show for it.
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