LeBron tops early NBA All-Star vote

LeBron James of the Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Nets might be headed toward yet another NBA All-Star Game rematch. James is the overall leader so far in All-Star balloting, and Durant leads all Eastern Conference players in early voting returns — putting them on track to be All-Star captains for the third consecutive year. James had 3,168,694 votes entering Thursday, topping the list of Western Conference frontcourt players. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry leads all guards in the balloting with 2,715,520 votes. The top three frontcourt players and top two guards in each conference will be chosen as starters, with the leading overall vote-getters from each conference serving as captains and choosing their teams. Fan voting counts for 50% of the starters balloting, a media ballot counts for 25% and the ballots turned in by NBA players count for the other 25%. Voting continues through Jan. 21. The captains and the starters will be announced Jan. 26. Reserves — chosen by NBA coaches — will be revealed Feb. 2, and the game is Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City.