The best argument about 2026 NBA All-Star voting starts with a number Minnesota and San Antonio fans can agree on. Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama both finished at 5.75. Only one could claim the West’s last starting spot.
Wembanyama got it. According to the NBA’s official results, he drew 4,505 more fan votes than Edwards, with each player pulling in nearly two million. That edge amounted to about 0.23% of Edwards’ total. Wembanyama earned the starting honor on January 19. Edwards had to wait for the coaches to name the reserves.
Timberwolves fans had a fair gripe. NBA players ranked Edwards three places ahead of Wembanyama. Spurs fans had an answer of their own. Fans and media both gave Wembanyama the edge.
Which vote should matter most when the candidates finish level? The NBA had already made that choice. What made the West so interesting was how often the answer seemed to change as you moved up the ballot.
How Wembanyama won the tie
For 2026 NBA All-Star voting, the league gave fans half the weight and split the other half evenly between players and media. It doubled each candidate’s fan rank, added his player and media ranks, then divided by four. The five lowest scores in each conference earned starting honors. A perfect 1.0 meant finishing first with all three groups.
The West’s official returns put Wembanyama sixth with fans, seventh with players and fourth with media. Edwards came seventh, fourth and fifth in those same categories. Wembanyama’s one-place lead with fans counted twice. His one-place lead with media offset the rest of Edwards’ three-place advantage with players.
Once they tied, the league went back to the raw fan totals. That gave Wembanyama the spot. Minnesota’s complaint has some bite precisely because fans had already helped bring him level. The tiebreaker gave the same group the final word.
Dončić won the fan vote and Jokić finished first overall
At the top of the West, the fan vote told a different story. Luka Dončić drew 3.4 million votes, roughly 410,000 more than Nikola Jokić. Yet the NBA’s results gave Jokić the West’s best combined score at 1.75, ahead of Dončić’s 2.50.
The media tied them for second. Players put Jokić first and Dončić sixth. That five-place gap with their peers outweighed Dončić’s one-place lead with the public.
The size of the fan lead was the catch. A lead of one vote and a lead of 410,000 would have earned Dončić the same first-place rank. Jokić could make up that difference with the players. Down at the cutoff, once Wembanyama and Edwards tied, the league counted the raw margin again. A much smaller gap suddenly mattered more.
Avdija gave Portland fans plenty to vote for
Deni Avdija drew 2.2 million fan votes, more than Wembanyama or Edwards. That put him fifth in the West with fans. According to the official results, players ranked him tenth and media placed him ninth. He finished seventh overall.
Portland fans could make their case without ever mentioning the ballot. As The Oregonian reported when the starters came out, Avdija was averaging 26.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists for a 22–22 team. If you watched the Blazers regularly, you saw a forward doing a lead guard’s share of the creating while putting up more than 26 a night.
You could buy Avdija’s case and still have trouble finding him a place. In a West that also had Dončić, Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry, voting for a breakout star meant leaving someone out. Fans were more willing to do it than the other two groups. In the East, Donovan Mitchell found out what happened when all three groups agreed on where to draw the line.
The East agreed on its five starters
Mitchell finished sixth with fans, sixth with players and sixth with media, according to the NBA’s Eastern Conference returns. Jaylen Brown, the last East starter in the combined standings, finished comfortably ahead of him. If Cleveland fans wanted to know which group had been toughest on Mitchell, the ballot gave them the same answer three times.
The East had plenty of room for debate higher up. Fans put Giannis Antetokounmpo first. Players chose Cade Cunningham, and media favored Brown. Every group still had the same five names above the cutoff, with Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey rounding out the field. The argument was over who belonged at the top. Mitchell needed one of those five to slip.
Put the deciding vote on the screen
The next time the NBA announces its starters, put the three rankings and the combined score beside each name. If two players tie, show the raw fan totals and the margin. Viewers could see in a few seconds why Wembanyama got the final spot and where Edwards made up ground before the tiebreaker.
The graphic should label what the ballot awards. Coaches later picked Edwards, Avdija and Mitchell as reserves, and Edwards went on to win All-Star MVP. The starter ballot settled one honor in January. The coaches’ selections gave all three a place in February.
Give the broadcast a few seconds to show how the league chose between two players who finished level. The fans can take it from there.
READ MORE: When NBA coaches trust unproven rookies with primary ball-handling duties
FAQs
Q1. How did Wembanyama beat Anthony Edwards in 2026 NBA All-Star voting?
A. Both finished at 5.75. Wembanyama earned 4,505 more fan votes, so he won the tiebreaker for the West’s final starting spot.
Q2. How did the NBA pick its 2026 All-Star starters?
A. The NBA gave fans 50% of the weight, players 25% and media 25%. The five lowest combined scores in each conference earned starting honors.
Q3. Why did Nikola Jokić finish ahead of Luka Dončić overall?
A. Dončić led the fan vote, but players ranked Jokić first and Dončić sixth. They tied with media, so Jokić’s edge with players tipped the overall result.
Q4. Why didn’t Deni Avdija start after finishing fifth in fan voting?
A. Players ranked Avdija tenth and media ranked him ninth. He finished seventh overall in the West, and coaches later picked him as a reserve.
Q5. Did Anthony Edwards still make the 2026 NBA All-Star Game?
A. Yes. Coaches picked Edwards as a reserve, and he went on to win All-Star MVP.
