Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo place in top-6 for initial East All-Star fan voting in frontcourt

Fan voting for the 2023-24 NBA All-Star game, scheduled for Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. EST in Indianapolis, Ind., tipped-off on Dec. 19.

The NBA released the first of three voting results Thursday, and Miami Heat superstar wing Jimmy Butler and big Bam Adebayo played inside the top 6 of the Eastern Conference frontcourt members.

Butler accumulated the fourth-most votes, trailing only Milwaukee’s  Giannis Antetokounmpo (East leader), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Boston’s Jayson Tatum with nearly 768K votes. Adebayo was No. 6 with 238,485 votes at the time of the release, sandwiched in between Boston’s Jaylen Brown (426,589) and Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges (203,009).

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.

Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.

Next fan update: 1/11. pic.twitter.com/KbFeBRTsnF

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 4, 2024

Adebayo, 26, has made the All-Star game twice in his career, including last year. Even though it hasn’t been the most efficient season for Miami’s sixth-year big, he is in a good position to make a third ASG game.

He’s averaging 21.7 points, 10.3 rebounds–both career highs–4.0 assists, 1.2 steals and one block in 24 games. He’s shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line–sporting a 57.0 true-shooting percentage, which would be tied for the lowest TS% of his career if the season concluded today.

Butler, 34, has made five All-Star teams–the most recent one coming in 2021-22. In 24 games, Butler–who’d rather not partake in the ASG–is averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals. He’s dealt with multiple lower-body injuries so far in 2023-24, including a current foot injury that’s held him out the last two games.

Fan voting only accounts for 50 percent of the actual vote, with the other 50 percent going to current players and media. Fan voting will be closed on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m. EST, where two additional updates will provided on Jan. 11 and 18.

The All-Star game starters will be announced on Jan. 25; the top two guards and top three forwards from the Eastern and Western Conferences will be the starters. The final seven reserves from each conference will be named on Feb. 1.

Fans can vote on the NBA App or NBA.com; there will be four more “3-for-1” voting days on Jan. 5, 12, 15 and 19.

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