Hawks forward Jalen Johnson ranks among the top 10 players in the Eastern Conference in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2026.
Johnson ranks eighth among Eastern players in his bid for his first All-Star appearance.
In 30 games, Johnson has averaged 23.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists while making 52.2% of his overall field goals. Johnson also has made a career-best 36.7% of a career-high 4.3 3-point attempts per game.
It all comes in a season where the Hawks have asked more of Johnson as one of the team’s primary playmakers. Johnson had to take on more responsibility, especially in the absence of guard Trae Young, who missed several games with a right MCL sprain.
Johnson grew into the responsibility, helping the Hawks to a 13-8 record in 21 games. In that span, he averaged 23.2 points, 11 rebounds and 8.8 assists while recording four consecutive triple-doubles.
He earned his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Nov. 10-16, which included the Hawks’ historic sweep of their West Coast trip.
The Hawks, though, have hit a skid over the past two weeks, having lost their past six games.
Lakers guard Luka Dončić leads all players in votes (1,249,518), while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Eastern Conference players.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (1,128,962); Warriors guard Stephen Curry (1,031,455); Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (878,621); and Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (769,362) rounded out the top five players in the Western Conference.
In the Eastern Conference, guards made up much of the voting, with the 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (1,072,449); the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (1,040,601); the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (1,000,171); and the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (851,155) in the second through fifth spots.
Under the NBA’s new All-Star Game format, the game will have two teams consisting of U.S. players and one team of international players (the World team).
They will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games.
This year’s game will broadcast on NBC and Peacock beginning at 5 p.m. EST Feb. 15 from Intuit Dome, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Fans voting makes up 50% of the vote to determine the five players from each conference named as starters for the game. Current NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each. This year, All-Stars are being selected without regard to position.
The NBA will share the next batch of fan voting Jan. 6.
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