MIAMI, November 13 – NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile begins today. Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, Antoine Walker, Udonis Haslem, Jason Williams and Alonzo Mourning will represent the Miami HEAT on the ballot as fans worldwide have the opportunity to vote for their favorite players as starters for the 56th NBA All-Star Game. The six Miami HEAT player nominations are the most in the Eastern Conference from a single team and ties the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns for the league-high. The 2007 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 215 countries and territories worldwide, will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007.

O’Neal, a 13-time All-Star, is looking to make his third-straight All-Star appearance as a member of the HEAT. During the 2005-06 season, O’Neal guided the HEAT to a 52-30 record while helping capture the franchise’s first NBA Championship after averaging 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.76 blocks while shooting a league-best 60.0 percent from the field during the regular season. Wade, a two-time All-Star was named NBA Finals MVP after averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.67 steals in the six-game NBA Finals series against Dallas. This season Wade leads the HEAT in scoring (25.2), assists (7.6) and steals (1.50) in per-game average. Walker, a three-time All-Star, has started in all six games for the HEAT this season while averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. Walker ranks first on the HEAT in three-point field goals attempted (35) and second in total points (83), defensive rebounds (30) and field goals made (33) and attempted (72). Haslem, a two-time selection in the got milk? Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend, is looking to make his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game. Haslem’s 9.7 rebounds per game leads the HEAT which is also the 15th best in the league. Williams, looking to make his first NBA All-Star appearance, eclipsed his career averages in many categories including points per game (12.3), field goal percentage (.442), three-point percentage (.372), free-throw percentage (.867) and turnovers per game (1.7) during last season. Mourning, a seven-time NBA All-Star, leads the HEAT in blocks (1.17) and field goal percentage (.526).

Fans have the opportunity to vote at all NBA arenas, in 20 different languages on NBA.com, on AOL.com/nba, at 1,250 T-Mobile-owned retail locations, the Thomas & Mack Center, the Las Vegas Convention Center, Fremont Street and through mobile phones at t-zones using T-Mobile service or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. For the first time, 13 NBA team arenas will also carry a Spanish-language version of the ballot. T-Mobile is the presenting partner of 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program. This year’s other All-Star Balloting partners include 2K Sports, AOL.com, XBOX, GameStop & EB Games.

NBA All-Star 2007 is a week-long celebration that enables fans to experience the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes playing the game they love and features a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals such as Jam Session.

A total of 120 players – 60 each from the Eastern and Western Conferences – are listed on the NBA All-Star ballot, with 24 guards, 24 forwards and 12 centers from each conference comprising the ballot. Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media experts who regularly cover the NBA. This year’s panel included Steve Aschburner (Minneapolis Star Tribune/President, Professional Basketball Writers’ Association), Ric Bucher (ESPN the Magazine), Ernie Johnson (Turner Sports) and Sam Smith (Chicago Tribune).

The 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program continues through Jan. 15, 2007 for paper balloting and Jan. 21, 2007 for online balloting. Updated results for the Eastern and Western Conferences will be issued regularly leading up to the announcement of the All-Star starters on Thursday Jan. 25 prior to a TNT doubleheader. Following the completion of fan voting and the starting line-up announcement, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Feb. 1 prior to a TNT doubleheader.

In conjunction with All-Star Balloting, 2K Sports will give fans the chance to live out their Las Vegas hoop dreams by entering the Official Balloting NBA 2K7 All-Star Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2007 and play 2K Sports NBA 2K7 on XBOX 360 against an NBA player. In addition, T-Mobile will promote their Fave 5 Sweepstakes by offering fans a chance to bring their favorite five friends to the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.

Vote Now!

“t-zones is a service mark of Deutsche Telekom AG.”