An Orlando Magic player is poised to make his first NBA All-Star team in just his second season as a professional.
Paolo Banchero was listed as one of the top 40 players in the most recent fan vote for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place in Indianapolis on February 18.
The list, which was released by the National Basketball Association on Thursday, features 20 players from each of the league’s conferences (10 guards and 10 “frontcourt”).
As of January 10, Banchero has received 355,521 fan votes, ranking him ninth in the NBA Eastern Conference Frontcourt.
In total, Banchero is ranked 32nd out of the 40 players who were voted to the preliminary list.
The current leading vote-getter in the Eastern Conference is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has accumulated nearly 3.5 million votes as of Thursday.
Fans account for 50% of the vote to determine the starters for the game.
Current players in the league and a media panel each account for 25% of the vote.
According to the league, the next voting update will be published on Thursday, January 18.
All voting will conclude on January 20 at 11:59 p.m. The starters for the game will be revealed during a TNT broadcast on Thursday, January 25 at 7 p.m.
Earlier this season, Banchero was named “Eastern Conference Player of the Week,” which he called “really special.”
Last year, Banchero was named the Rookie of the Year and was unanimously selected to the 2022-2023 Kia NBA All-Rookie team.