Salt Lake City – Allen Iverson came to the Nuggets with more than 1 million all-star votes. In the end, he still didn’t have enough to start for the Western Conference.
No Nuggets were voted as starters for this year’s All-Star Game, set for Feb. 18 in Las Vegas, although Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby have chances to make it as reserves.
Of the three, Iverson had the best chance to be voted a starter. On Jan. 11, with the fourth returns recorded by the NBA announced, Iverson was just more than 31,000 votes behind Houston’s Tracy McGrady, but eventually the Rockets’ star guard stretched his lead to nearly 130,000.
Iverson was mildly surprised.
“I honestly thought that I was going to be a starter,” Iverson said. “But that’s the way it went. You have to respect what the fans do.”
Until this season, Iverson started seven straight all-star games and was the game’s MVP in 2001 and 2005. Perhaps not working in Iverson’s favor was his move from the Eastern Conference to the West. If he had still been in the East, he would have had enough votes to start alongside Miami’s Dwyane Wade.
“It might have had something to do with it, but I don’t know,” Iverson said. “I just want to be on the team. I don’t care too much about the starting part of it. It’ll be different because every game that I’ve been in, as far as all-star, I’ve started. But it’s going to be different anyway, just being on the West.”
Reserves, selected by conference coaches, are announced Feb. 1 on TNT.
Along with Iverson, Anthony and Camby hope to be among those chosen. Camby was the fourth-leading vote-getter at center behind Houston’s Yao Ming, Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire and Dallas’ Erick Dampier. But Yao won’t play because of an injury, which means NBA commissioner David Stern gets to select someone in his place.
Nuggets coach George Karl has been persistent and vocal in the past couple of weeks, insisting Camby should be an all-star. He reiterated his feelings Thursday.
“I think Marcus has a good chance,” Karl said. “Marcus has played like an all-star and deserves to be on the all-star team, as has Melo. But the 15-game suspension, I don’t know how that reads in other people’s minds.”
A Denver Post survey of Western Conference coaches showed the majority said Anthony’s suspension, levied after a Dec. 16 fight in Madison Square Garden, would have little, if any, weight on their votes for the Nuggets star.
Anthony has never played in an all-star game, but he said he has gotten solid feedback on his chances of making the team this year. His biggest competition is Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki (whom Anthony passed in fan voting while on suspension to finish third), Dallas’ Josh Howard and Utah’s Carlos Boozer.
Anthony said: “I think there’s a good chance. I’ve been hearing good things. I’m just going to see how it plays out. I have a couple of more games. We shall see.”
A good impression in the next two games, beginning tonight in Utah, would help his cause.
Also on his side are the facts he is the NBA’s leading scorer at 31.6 points per game, the Nuggets are 2-0 since he returned to the lineup and the team is just 7-8 without him this season.
Anthony has been pleased with his play since returning to the team Monday.
“It’s better than what people expected, I can tell you that,” Anthony said. “I don’t think people expected me to come back in the shape that I’m in, playing the way I’ve been playing, winning games, although I still have a little bit of rust on me. I still haven’t hit my jump shot like (I usually do).”
Karl thinks the Nuggets will likely get two players on the all-star squad.
“I feel we’ll be represented,” he said. “I don’t know if we can get all three of them on the team. Someone is probably going to be unhappy.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
Final NBA All-Star Voting
Game: Sunday, Feb. 18
At The Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards
x-Kevin Garnett, Minnesota, 1,616,575; x-Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 1,436,584; Carmelo Anthony, Denver, 1,309,945; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 1,276,304; Shane Battier, Houston, 1,025,643; Shawn Marion, Phoenix, 551,173; Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers, 438,824; Josh Howard, Dallas, 412,102; Pau Gasol, Memphis, 364,459; Carlos Boozer, Utah, 359,882.
Guards
x-Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, 2,138,777; x-Tracy McGrady, Houston, 1,942,796; y-Allen Iverson, Denver, 1,813,638; Steve Nash, Phoenix, 1,504,826; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio, 541,341; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 501,429; Chris Paul, New Orleans, 462,206; Ray Allen, Seattle, 444,443; Jason Terry, Dallas, 421,924; Baron Davis, Golden State, 354,412.
Centers
x-Yao Ming, Houston, 2,451,718; Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix, 1,209,333; Erick Dampier, Dallas, 385,179; Marcus Camby, Denver, 373,382; Mehmet Okur, Utah, 339,247; Francisco Elson, San Antonio, 252,622; Tyson Chandler, New Orleans, 202,531; Brad Miller, Sacramento, 186,230; Mark Blount, Minnesota, 175,322; Chris Kaman, L.A. Clippers, 160,234.
Coach-Mike D’Antoni, Phoenix.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards
x-LeBron James, Cleveland, 2,516,049; x-Chris Bosh, Toronto, 1,091,263; Jermaine O’Neal, Indianapolis, 934,749; Grant Hill, Orlando, 677,423; Paul Pierce, Boston, 615,911; Rasheed Wallace, Detroit, 549,693; Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia, 459,139; Tayshaun Prince, Detroit, 408,936; Caron Butler, Washington, 404,489; Emeka Okafor, Charlotte, 388,170.
Guards
x-Dwyane Wade, Miami, 2,029,591; x-Gilbert Arenas, Washington, 1,454,166; Vince Carter, New Jersey, 1,451,156; Jason Kidd, New Jersey, 838,486; Chauncey Billups, Detroit, 499,670; Stephon Marbury, New York, 458,181; Michael Redd, Milwaukee, 351,277; Ben Gordon, Chicago, 316,428; Steve Francis, New York, 307,287; Richard Hamilton, Detroit, 306,547.
Centers
x-Shaquille O’Neal, Miami, 1,622,446; Dwight Howard, Orlando, 1,464,613; Ben Wallace, Chicago, 788,950; Alonzo Mourning, Miami, 338,904; Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee, 256,579; Zaza Pachulia, Atlanta, 244,507; Nazr Mohammed, Detroit, 217,067; Eddy Curry, New York, 202,010; Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland, 196,000; Primoz Brezec, Charlotte, 164,734.
Coach-TBA.
x-starters
y-Listed with Philadelphia on the ballot. For tabulation purposes, Iverson’s votes will be counted toward the Western Conference totals.
