After the second round of voting for the 2024-25 NBA All-Star Game, Damian Lillard He has been in third place for Eastern Conference guards behind LaMelo Ball Donovan Mitchell. As the Milwaukee guard looks to pick up his ninth All-Star selection, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has encouraged fans to vote.

In his Instagram story Thursday morning, The Greek Freak posted a photo of himself with Lillard on the court, and encouraged fans to vote for his Milwaukee teammate.

In response, Lillard put Antetokounmpo’s story on his record, adding:

“Tell me sir lol”

Lillard has received more than 161,500 votes outside of second place, while Antetokounmpo leads not only the Eastern Conference Frontcourt voting but also all players in the league when it comes to fan voting.

All starters are chosen based on votes from fans, NBA players and media. Reserve players are selected based on votes from coaches around the league, with each conference selecting seven reserves.

Before the February All-Star weekend, the starters will be announced on Jan. 23 on TNT, and the database then announced on Jan. 30 on the TNT network’s NBA Tip-Off show.

Looking at Damian Lillard’s case for an All-Star selection this season

As mentioned earlier, Damian Lillard is currently in third place among guards in the East. With LaMelo Ball nearly 500,000 votes ahead of Lillard, and over 300,000 votes ahead of Donovan Mitchell, it looks like he’ll get his second All-Star selection.

The question now becomes whether Damian Lillard can pass Donovan Mitchell to secure his place as an All-Star, or if he should wait for a spot as a backup.

If the current situation works out and Donovan Mitchell secures a second Eastern Conference berth, Lillard still has a strong shot at being selected for his ninth All-Star.

Lillard averages 24.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

At the same time, he made better field goals and 3-pointers than last year, helping lead Milwaukee to fifth place in the Eastern Conference despite a slow start to the season.

As evidenced by the popularity ratings, along with Lillard, both Jalen Brunson and Trae Young have cases to be selected as All-Star reserves for Eastern Conference guards. Brunson has helped lead the Knicks to third place in the East while averaging 25.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists on 47.7% from the floor.

As for Young, with the Hawks in ninth place in the East, Young is leading the league with 12.2 assists per game, a huge jump from his 10.8 apg average last season. Additionally, Young is averaging 22.6 points and 1.3 steals per game on 40.1% from the floor.

Given that, although Damian Lillard has a strong case to be selected as the Eastern Conference’s point guard, it is clear that there is a tough competition.