Luka Doncic is as popular as ever, and this worldwide fame has translated into incredible numbers in NBA All-Star voting. As was the case with the first fan returns for this season, Doncic leads all Western Conference players in the second returns, which were announced on Tuesday.
Reacting to this piece of news, the LA Lakers superstar expressed awe at how far he has come in his basketball career.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Doncic said at a media availability this week. “A kid from Slovenia can only dream about that…I appreciate all the votes.”
Luka on leading All-Star voting: “It’s pretty amazing. A kid from Slovenia can only dream about that. … I appreciate all the votes.”
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) January 8, 2026
There are multiple layers of significance when it comes to Luka Doncic’s dominance in the NBA All-Star voting. For starters, these voting returns add credence to the argument that the Slovenian guard is the new face of the league.
While the likes of Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo (who leads the NBA All-Star voting in the Eastern Conference) have won more hardware in recent years, Doncic has dazzled fans around the globe in his own way. The blockbuster trade that brought him to Los Angeles magnified his popularity as he became part of the Lakers’ rich legacy.
On top of this, his Lakers teammate LeBron James used to be a perennial champion of NBA All-Star voting. James led the league in total All-Star votes 10 times in his career, but in the second fan returns this season, Luka Doncic (2,229,811 votes) had more than double the numbers of LBJ (1,059,855).
With the NBA adopting a new “US vs. The World” concept, it’s still plausible that James will make his 22nd All-Star appearance next month. However, the latest results of the NBA All-Star voting indicate that there’s a torch-passing moment of sorts from the King to the league’s new poster boy.
Luka Doncic Reacts to Blockbuster Trade Sending Trae Young to Wizards
All eyes were on Luka Doncic last February when the Dallas Mavericks decided to ship him to Tinseltown. Now, the world’s attention is on Trae Young, who made headlines on Wednesday night when he was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards.
Shortly after the Young deal was announced, Doncic was asked at a media session to comment on the trade.
I have a lot of respect for him. So if he’s excited for this new journey, I’m excited for him.
A connective thread will forever link Doncic and Young, who were traded for each other on the night that they were selected in the 2018 NBA draft.
