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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) gestures during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena on January 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Los Angeles Lakers Guard Luka Doncic is still in disbelief that he leads the 2026 NBA All-Star voting by an overwhelming margin.
THE The NBA announced As of Wednesday, Doncic (2,229,811) leads all players in both conferences, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (2,092,284), Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets (1,998,560), New York Knicks‘Jalen Brunson (1,916,497) and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers (1,908,978) during the second fan return.
Doncic realizes it’s “pretty astonishing” that he’s nearly 200,000 votes ahead of second-place Antetokounmpo, and nearly 250,000 votes ahead of anyone else in the West.
“Honestly, it did (it struck me in a way),” Doncic said fans showed up in droves to support his position as the NBA’s most popular player.
“This is the first time this has happened to me (leading the All-Star vote).
“Honestly, it’s pretty amazing. I mean, a Slovenian kid can only dream of this. Dream of being in the NBA. It’s pretty amazing, so I really appreciate all the votes. When I saw the votes, it really hit me. It’s amazing.”
Luka Doncic: new face of the NBA
Terribly, Warriors of the Golden StateStephen Curry (1,844,903), LeBron James of the Lakers (1,059,855) and Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets (997,386) all finished outside the top 5 in overall voting, while only Curry ranked among the top 5 in the Western Conference.
Many analysts believe that Doncic has now reached the status of new face of the NBAwith several other measures also supporting this argument. Since arriving in Los Angeles, Doncic has led the NBA in the sale of goods, social media engagement, YouTube views, All-Star voting, and almost every other metric to gauge a player’s popularity.
Doncic is also the most watched player across all NBA platforms, with content involving the Lakers star generating over 845 million views as of December 22, 2025.
Reaching new heights with the Lakers
While Doncic was a global superstar even during his time with the Dallas Maverickshis popularity has reached new heights since he was traded to the Lakers. Even LeBron James – who became the face of the NBA long before he arrived in Los Angeles – saw his popularity and business interests increase significantly when he became a Laker.
Another factor working in Doncic’s favor is his age. At 26 years old, he seems destined to remain a member of the Lakers for at least 10 years and possibly bring them multiple championships. He realizes the weight of responsibility that comes with being the number one player on the Lakers, a franchise that has been represented by the greatest of the greatest.
“Kobe brought so many championships here. LeBron brought a championship here. So I want to be the next one to do it, for sure,” Doncic said last year. “I met Kobe, I play with LeBron, when I was little in Slovenia, I just wanted to play basketball. I just wanted to hit the NBA. And now I’m playing with the best.”
“Honestly, I’m just sharing the court with him. It’s the 23rd season. It’s crazy,” Doncic said recently. “Just sharing the court with him is special. He sees things that others can’t see. He’s there to help all of us, so it’s amazing. It’s only his first game and he’s playing amazing, so I can’t wait to play again.”
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a veteran sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including work for Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. Learn more about Sai Mohan
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