Giannis Antetokounmpo
Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) defends during the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Hanisch

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo leads all players in the first round of the 2018 NBA All-Star Game returns. Unlike previous years, the leading vote-getter from each conference will serve as team captain.

If Antetokounmpo finishes the ballot with the most votes, he would serve as the captain of the Eastern Conference. Under the new All-Star Game format, team rosters will be finalised by the captains from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves. Golden State Warrior star Kevin Durant is currently the runaway favourite to captain the Western Conference squad.

For a second consecutive year, the voting process will include players, the media and the fans. While fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, players and media members will account for 25 percent each.

As explained by NBA.com, fan voting will serve as a tiebreaker for players who play the same position and finish with the same score.

"After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The five players (two guards and three frontcourt players) with the best score in each conference will be named NBA All-Star Game starters. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score."

The 2018 NBA All-Star game will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 18. The starting lineups and the two captains will be announced on a "TNT NBA Tip-Off" broadcast on on Thursday, Jan. 18. The reserves will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 25 during a special one-hour edition of "TNT NBA Tip-Off."

NBA All-Star Voting will conclude on Monday, Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET (3:59 p.m. Saturday AEDT). As of Thursday, Jan. 4, the following are the top-5 vote-getters from each conference:

Eastern Conference
Frontcourt
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 863,416
2. LeBron James (CLE) 856,080
3. Joel Embiid (PHI) 433,161
4. Kristaps Porzingis (NYK) 359,459
5. Kevin Love (CLE) 221,969

Guards
1. Kyrie Irving (BOS) 802,834
2. DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 259,368
3. Victor Oladipo (IND) 251,886
4. Ben Simmons (PHI) 210,085
5. John Wall (WAS) 175,990

Western Conference
Frontcourt
1. Kevin Durant (GSW) 767,402
2. Anthony Davis (NOP) 393,000
3. DeMarcus Cousins (NOP) 356,340
4. Draymond Green (GSW) 325,612
5. Paul George (OKC) 291,495

Guards
1. Stephen Curry (GSW) 735,115
2. James Harden (HOU) 602,040
3. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 438,469
4. Klay Thompson (GSW) 359,442
5. Manu Ginobili (SAS) 231,460

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