GREAT news for Filipino fans of the National Basketball Association. You will soon be able to vote your favorite NBA stars to the 2018 NBA All-Star squads.
NBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon will tip off with an early voting period exclusively on the NBA App and NBA.com beginning Thursday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. ET (2 a.m., Dec. 22 Manila time).
Voting via all other channels, including Amazon Alexa for the first time, will launch on Monday, Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. ET before five Christmas Day matchups across ESPN, ABC and TNT.
Additionally, new for this season, five “2-for-1 Days” will allow fans to have their votes count twice on Dec. 31, Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Jan. 12 and Jan. 15 when voting through the NBA App and NBA.com, along with Sina Weibo and Tencent in China. All “2-for-1 Days” will be designated 12 a.m.—11:59 p.m. ET.
TNT will reveal the All-Star Game starters, including the two captains, on Thursday, Jan. 18 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader at 6 p.m. ET, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The network will announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Tuesday, Jan. 23 during TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.
The team rosters for NBA All-Star Game 2018 in Los Angeles will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 25 during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET. The 67th All-Star Game will be played at Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on TNT.
Under a new All-Star Game format that replaces the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, the team rosters will be chosen by two captains from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves. The captains, who will select the teams before TNT televises the results, will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference.
For the second consecutive year, NBA players and basketball media will join fans in selecting the All-Star Game starters. Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each.
Throughout the voting period, fans may submit one full ballot each day through the NBA App and NBA.com, post 10 total votes on Facebook, Google Search, Twitter and Amazon Alexa, as well as 10 total votes via Sina Weibo and Tencent. All current NBA players will be available for selection via all platforms.
Players and media will be able to complete one full ballot, featuring three frontcourt players and two guards each from both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Players may vote for their teammates or themselves.
Fan voting updates will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 4 and Thursday, Jan. 11. Voting will conclude on Monday, Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET.