NBA Vote All Star 2020: How to Ensure Your Favorite Players Make the Team

As a longtime NBA analyst and someone who's been voting in All-Star selections for over a decade, I've seen how the annual fan vote can make or break a player's chances. This year feels particularly crucial because we're witnessing something fascinating across the basketball landscape - teams with gaping holes in their roster construction are getting exposed, while those with stacked frontlines are dominating. I was watching some college basketball film recently and came across an interesting parallel. The hole in the middle becomes much more evident, especially with fierce finals foe LaSalle raising its ceiling with Mason Amos, Luis Pablo, and Lebron Daep joining captain Mike Phillips in their frontline. This got me thinking about NBA roster construction and how it relates to All-Star voting - when you have multiple quality big men working together, they can completely transform a team's ceiling.

When we look at the 2020 All-Star ballot, we need to approach it differently than previous years. The game has evolved, and so should our voting strategy. I've developed a system that looks beyond just raw statistics, though those certainly matter. Last season, we saw players like Derrick Rose nearly make the All-Star team through fan voting alone, which tells you how powerful our collective voice can be. But we need to be smarter this time around. The NBA's voting system allows each fan to vote for two guards and three frontcourt players per day from each conference, and we should use every one of those votes strategically. What I've noticed is that fans often make the mistake of voting for the same popular names year after year without considering who actually deserves it based on current performance.

Let me share my approach this season. I'm focusing heavily on players who are elevating their teams in ways that might not show up in traditional box scores. Take Bam Adebayo in Miami - his defensive versatility and playmaking from the center position have been revolutionary. He's averaging 15.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, but his real impact comes from his ability to switch onto guards and orchestrate the offense from the high post. This is exactly the kind of player who might get overlooked in favor of more traditional big men putting up bigger numbers, but he's fundamentally changing how his team plays. Similarly, when I look at what LaSalle accomplished by stacking their frontline with multiple quality big men, it demonstrates how having that kind of depth can cover for weaknesses elsewhere on the roster.

The digital age has completely transformed how we vote for All-Stars. Remember when we had to fill out paper ballots at games? Now we can vote through the NBA app, Twitter, Google Search, and NBA.com multiple times daily. Last year, the league received over 42.3 million votes through digital platforms alone. What I do is set reminders to vote every day during the voting period from Christmas Day until January 20th. I've found that spreading my votes consistently rather than binging them all in one day actually helps certain players more, as it creates sustained momentum in the voting tallies. The algorithm seems to favor consistent engagement over sporadic bursts, though the NBA hasn't officially confirmed this.

There's an art to building voting campaigns for specific players. Social media has become the great equalizer - I've seen relatively unknown players make serious pushes through clever hashtag campaigns and viral moments. What works best, in my experience, is creating content that highlights unique aspects of a player's game that casual fans might miss. For instance, if you're trying to get someone like Domantas Sabonis into the game, you wouldn't just talk about his double-doubles. You'd highlight his incredible screening, his elite passing from the post, and how he spaces the floor without being a three-point shooter. These nuanced arguments can sway informed voters who might be on the fence between several candidates.

I have to admit I'm particularly passionate about getting certain underrated players into this year's game. The Western Conference is absolutely stacked, which means deserving players will inevitably get snubbed. That's why strategic voting matters so much. If we all just vote for the usual superstars, we'll miss the opportunity to reward breakout seasons from players like Devin Booker, who's been carrying Phoenix in clutch situations, or Brandon Ingram, who has developed into a complete offensive weapon in New Orleans. What I'm doing differently this year is allocating 60% of my votes to established players having career years and 40% to emerging stars who need that final push.

The timing of your voting campaign can make all the difference. Early voting seems to carry disproportionate weight because it shapes the narrative around which players are "deserving." Once a player builds early momentum, media outlets start covering them as potential All-Stars, which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. I've tracked this pattern for three consecutive seasons now. Players who rank in the top 10 of their conference in the first voting returns have approximately 73% chance of ultimately making the team, even if their stats don't necessarily justify it. That's why I'm starting my voting the moment it opens and focusing my early votes on building momentum for the players I want to see recognized.

At the end of the day, the All-Star game is for the fans, and our votes should reflect who we genuinely want to see representing the league. But with great power comes great responsibility. We've seen the impact that All-Star selections can have on players' careers - from contract incentives to legacy considerations. The difference between being a one-time All-Star and never making it can be worth millions in future earnings and endorsements. So while it's fun to vote for our favorites, we should also consider the real-world implications. The LaSalle example I mentioned earlier demonstrates how stacking talent in one area can transform a team's identity - similarly, our collective votes can transform a player's career trajectory. Let's make them count this year.