Paolo Banchero made his NBA return after months of injury in a game against Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks. Postgame, Giannis had surprising and encouraging words, praising Banchero’s resilience and potential as he rejoined the league’s action.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LaMelo Ball remain the leaders at guard in the East & West, with Jokić and Antetokounmpo as the top overall leaders.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic continued to lead all vote-getters in returns released Thursday for starting spots in next month's NBA All-Star Game.

The second returns of NBA All-Star voting are in, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks still leads all vote-getters. Just like in the first returns, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets leads all Western Conference vote-getters.

NBA All-Star weekend is right around the corner and now is the time for fans to vote on who they want to see the most in the game. In the first returns, the top NBA stars (LeBron James and Stephen Curry) ranked third in their respective categories.