CHICAGO – There are two players that have garnered a number of votes already for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game that are of interest to fans of the Bulls.
The first is the player who has been the best on the current team over the last year and a half. The second is a Chicago native who continues to have a lot of supporters in his hometown and from his days with the Bulls.
Guard DeMar DeRozan is currently sixth in the voting for the Eastern Conference guards as he has 544,629 votes. He’s trailing Kyrie Irving of the Nets (2,071,715), Donovan Mitchell of the Cavaliers (1,637,374), James Harden of the Sixers (1,161,374), Jaylen Brown of the Celtics (1,032,522), and Trae Young of the Hawks (791,354).
This year’s NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, February 19 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile former Simeon High School star and 2010-2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose has cracked the Top 10 in the voting for Eastern Conference guards with 220,229 votes, which currently puts him in ninth.
He’s been in a reserve role for this season, going in and out of Tom Thibodeau’s main rotation for the last 2 1/2 months. Rose did fill in for the injured Jalen Brunson for the final three games of the 2022 calendar year before he sat out the last two games with a left knee contusion.
In 27 games this season, Rose is averaging 5.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 12.9 minutes of play per contest.
DeRozan is continuing his strong play in his second year with the Bulls as he hopes to start in the NBA All-Star Game for a second-straight season. In 38 games, he’s averaged 26.6 points with 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest.
The fans will count for 50 percent of the final vote with 25 percent coming from the players and 25 from a media panel. Fan voting will continue through Saturday, January 21 with the starters for the contest being announced on Thursday, January 26.
Reserves for the All-Star Game, which are selected by the coaches, will be announced on Thursday, February 2.
