China NBA favourite Klay Thompson gets 100,000 All-Star votes despite not playing since 2019

Golden State Warriors guard is 10th on West guard fan vote list led by teammate Steph Curry ahead of March 7 showpiece

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Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson reacts after an injury during the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors in game six of the 2019 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Thompson has not played since. Photo: USA Today Sports

Published: 1:40pm, 6 Feb 2021Updated: 1:40pm, 6 Feb 2021

Chinese fan favourite Klay Thompson has racked up 100,000 votes ahead of the NBA All-Star game to put him 10th on the list of guards in the West despite not having played since 2019.

The NBA released the first round of fan votes on Friday, with Thompson’s Golden State Warriors teammate Steph Curry leading the West guards vote on 2.1 million votes.

Curry is behind only West frontcourt vote leader LeBron James and his Eastern conference counterpart Kevin Durant in overall votes. James, who has been highly critcal of the All-Star Game going ahead this season, had just under 2.3 million votes with overall leader Durant surpassing that mark.

Thompson, who has the fewest votes on the 40-man list, is a surprise inclusion having not been on court since June 2019.

The 30-year-old, who has been a regular visitor to China on tours promoting his Chinese shoe sponsor Anta, sat out all of last season injured and is still sidelined.

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