NBA All-Star ballot expands to include all players

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA is expanding the All-Star ballot to include all players, and pushing back the start of voting so fans can better consider their choices.

Voting for the Feb. 15 game in New York will open Dec. 11. It traditionally began this week, when teams aren’t even 10 games into their seasons.

The ballot on NBA.com will for the first time feature every player in the league. It formerly included only 60 players per conference who had been selected by a media panel.

Fans will continue to vote for three frontcourt players and two guards to start for each conference.

The other major U.S. pro sports league use ballots featuring set player pools.

All-Star voting is sponsored by Sprint. It concludes at the end of the day Jan. 19.