2021 NBA All-Star Voting: Kevin Durant, LeBron James Lead 1st Round of Ballots

Kevin Durant and LeBron James are the top two vote-getters in the first round of the 2021 NBA All-Star ballots released Thursday. 

Per the results released by the NBA, Durant leads all players with 2,302,705 votes, with James a close second at 2,288,676. Stephen Curry is the only other player who has received at least two million votes (2,113,178). Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal leads all Eastern Conference guards with 1,273,817 votes. 

Durant has shattered even the most optimistic expectations for him after returning from a torn Achilles. The Brooklyn Nets star is averaging 30.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He's also shooting 53.3 percent overall and a career-high 45.2 percent from three-point range. 

Durant's teammates, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, aren't far behind Beal for the top spot among guards in the East. Harden has been fantastic in nine games with Brooklyn since being acquired from the Houston Rockets. The former NBA MVP has four triple-doubles and is averaging 12 assists per game with the Nets.

The frontcourt in the Eastern Conference is loaded at the top. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning two-time NBA MVP, is having another dominant season with 27 points, 11.2 rebounds and six assists in 20 games for the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Joel Embiid, who is having an MVP-caliber year for the East-leading Philadelphia 76ers, sits in third behind Durant and Antetokounmpo. Jayson Tatum is having arguably a better season this year than in his breakout 2019-20 campaign, with career-highs in scoring (26.8 points per game), rebounds (7.3) and assists (4.1). He's also shooting 41.1 percent from three, but he sits a distant fourth.

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the first round of voting is that Anthony Davis sits fourth among frontcourt players in the Western Conference. 

Davis hasn't been as dominant statistically this season as he has in the past. His 22.3 points per game is on pace to be his lowest average since 2013-14, and he's averaging the fewest rebounds per game (8.7) since he was a rookie in 2012-13. 

Playing for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers would also seem to give Davis an edge, but it's a testament to how good Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard have been for their respective teams. 

Guard depth in the West is also making it hard for deserving players to get their fair shake. Curry, Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard are getting most of the votes, with Ja Morant and Donovan Mitchell more than 700,000 votes behind Lillard for the No. 3 spot. 

Voting for the All-Star Game will continue through Feb. 16. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that the NBA and National Basketball Players Association are nearing an agreement to hold a single-night All-Star event, including a game and skills competition, on March 7 in Atlanta.