Remember how Zaza Pachulia finished just 14,000 votes behind Kawhi Leonard to become the third frontcourt starter at the All Star Game for the Western Conference? Well once again, Pachulia, he of the 5.2 ppg and around 17 minutes game time, is a high vote getter.
LeBron/Kyrie and KD/Curry lead first returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by @Verizon!
Vote: https://t.co/7SYpaqHa1f & NBA App. pic.twitter.com/ofvgaJERkT
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) January 5, 2017
But this year, with the changes to All-Star fan voting giving the fans less of a voice overall, Pachulia’s vote count doesn’t mean quite as much as it did a year ago.
He’s well off the pace set by Kevin Durant by not just the 14,000 votes of a year ago, but by over 100,000 votes now. Since it’s doubtful that Pachulia will carry much of the vote from the media or players, his strong polling among NBA fans won’t be able to drag him to the finish line.
Reached out to the NBA offices for clarification on how exactly All-Star voting will work this year, and here's what they shared: pic.twitter.com/c6U42s7Xgt
— Andrew Lynch (@AndrewLynch) January 5, 2017
Pachulia still has a chance to end up being a Western Conference starter, but it’s highly unlikely at this point, unless the fan campaign to vote him in picks up some massive steam.
Voting ends January 16 at 11:59 PM ET.
