Kyrie Irving leads Eastern Conference guards in NBA All-Star voting, despite the Brooklyn Nets star’s controversial anti-Semitism scandal this season.
- Kyrie Irving beat out guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden in the Eastern
- The vote comes just two months after he tweeted a link to an ‘anti-Semitic’ film
- The guard is the Nets’ second-highest scorer this season behind Kevin Durant
- Durant finished second overall with LeBron James getting the most votes
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Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is leading the fan vote among Eastern Conference guards for NBA All-Star, despite his controversial anti-Semitism scandal.
The NBA released the first returns of this season’s All-Star fan votes on Thursday with Irving, 30, surprisingly emerging into the top spot for guards in his conference, ahead of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden .
The fact that Irving is still a fan favorite is somewhat surprising this season after he endured backlash and criticism for posting a link to a controversial movie.
Kyrie Irving tops the fan vote for Eastern Conference guards in the NBA All-Star
The Brooklyn Nets star was ahead of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden
In October, he shared a link to the Amazon page for the 2018 film ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’ which contains anti-Semitic tropes.
Irving was suspended by the Nets for at least five games, after he refused to apologize and said he had no anti-Semitic beliefs when meeting with reporters at the Nets’ practice facility.
The anti-Semitism row even led to sportswear giant Nike ending its partnership with the embattled star.
The Brooklyn Nets star has drawn attention for publicizing the 2018 film based on a book of the same name that has been described as ‘venomously anti-Semitic’
The anti-Semitism row led to sportswear giant Nike ending its partnership with Irving
Irving eventually offered a belated apology following his suspension and again apologized to the Jewish community.
After missing eight games due to the suspension, his second apology paved the way for his return to the court and the Nets have won 18 of their last 22 games and are currently tied for second in the Eastern Conference.
Irving is the second-highest scorer on the team this season behind Kevin Durant, which certainly boosts his chances of adding another NBA All-Star Game to his accomplishments.
Irving is the second highest scorer on the Brooklyn Nets this season behind Kevin Durant
Durant and LeBron James led their respective frontcourt conferences with the Lakers star receiving the most total votes with 3,168,694.
Nikola Jokic finished behind LeBron in the Western conference and Giannis Antetokounmpo finished second to Durant in the Eastern.
Irving finished with 2,071,715 votes, beating Cleveland’s Mitchell into second with 1,637,374, who recorded a historic 71-point performance Monday, while Harden finished third with 1,161,593.
Meanwhile, Stephen Curry of the reigning champion Golden State Warriors led the guards in the Western conference with 2,715,520 votes.
Lasts superstar LeBron James got the most votes overall from fans with 3,168,694.
