NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James are the early leaders in fan voting for next month’s All-Star Game, the NBA said Thursday.

Antetokounmpo had 2,171,812 votes to lead all Eastern Conference frontcourt players, and James had 2,008,645 votes to lead all Western Conference front court players.

James is looking for a record 20th All-Star selection; he is currently tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in league history with 19. He and Antetokounmpo were the leaders in fan voting last season as well.

Fan voting counts for 50% of the formula used to select the All-Star starters. Media voting counts for another 25% and voting by NBA players determines the other 25% of the formula. The league is reverting to the classic East vs. West format for the All-Star Game this year, with three front court players and two guards in each starting lineup.

The West front court leaders are James, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The East frontcourt leaders are Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. The West guard leaders are Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Golden State’s Stephen Curry, and the East guard leaders are Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard.

The All-Star Game is Feb. 18 in Indianapolis. Fan voting continues through Jan. 20. Coaches will choose the reserves for both rosters.

NCAA, ESPN SIGN LARGE DEAL

The NCAA and ESPN have agreed to a $920 million, eight-year deal that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament.

The women’s side of March Madness has been growing in popularity and the association has been accused of undervaluing it in the past.

NCAA President Charlie Baker told The Associated Press the deal has an average annual value of $115 million.

That’s an increase of more than 300% per year on what the previous 14-year deal with ESPN was paying the association.

The deal covers 21 women’s and 19 men’s sports.

NBA FINES NETS FOR REST

The NBA fined the Brooklyn Nets $100,000 on Thursday, marking the first time a team was sanctioned for violating the league’s player participation policy that went into effect this season.

The Nets held out four rotation players — starters Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, along with key reserve Dorian Finney-Smith — in what became a 144-122 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 27.

Three of the players Brooklyn started that night logged 12 minutes or less.