NBA News: January 17, 2023

The 2022-23 NBA season continues to roll right along, and playoff races are going to pick up now that we have reached 2023. This is also a league that continues to dominate the headlines, especially when it comes to some of the top players. 

It was a big weekend around the NBA, and some records were set in some interesting categories. Here are three of the biggest news stories that came from the NBA last weekend.

All-Star Voting Update

Voting for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game is now open, and the league has provided an update on the voting results for the second time. As expected, two of the most popular players in the league are currently leading the way. 

LeBron James is the top vote-getter in the Western Conference, and Kevin Durant is currently leading the Eastern Conference. Once again, the player from each conference that receives the most votes will be selected as a captain and will get to pick their teams. 

The vote from the fans accounts for 50% of the total vote, and the NBA coaches and members of the media will make up the other 50%. Giannis Antetokounmpo has started to close the gap between himself and Durant in the East, but James continues to have a massive lead in the Western Conference. 

The team captains and a complete list of starters will be announced on Thursday, January 26.

Antetokounmpo Remains Out of the Lineup

The Milwaukee Bucks have now been without Giannis Antetokounmpo for three straight games as the former MVP is dealing with knee soreness. Antetokounmpo is not expected to be sidelined for an extended period of time, but the Bucks are giving him some time off to get back to 100%.

The Milwaukee Bucks listed Antetokounmpo as probable for the most recent game, and the forward did participate in pregame warmups. The team training staff was not comfortable with how Antetokounmpo was responding during warmups and made the decision to keep him out of the lineup. 

Khris Middleton is also out of the lineup for the Bucks, as he has missed 16 straight games. The Bucks have also been keeping Joe Ingles out of the lineup in an effort to manage his knee soreness.

Spurs Set New Attendance Record

The biggest event that took place in the NBA over the weekend happened in San Antonio as the Spurs hosted the Golden State Warriors. The Spurs were celebrating their 50th anniversary as a franchise, and they had a massive event planned at the Alamodome. 

San Antonio set a new NBA attendance record over the weekend as 68,323 fans visited the Alamodome to watch the Spurs battle the Golden State Warriors. It was the Warriors that picked up a 144-113 win over San Antonio on Friday night, but that was about the only thing that went wrong for the Spurs. 

This was the first time that the Spurs played in the Alamodome since the 2001-2002 season as the team left for the AT&T Center. The Alamodome does not provide a great fan experience for basketball, but the game on Friday night was a party-like atmosphere.

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All Media on this page by Associated Press.