Orlando Magic Photo / Fernando Medina; used with permission

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Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard will start at center for the Eastern Conference for the third straight season, the NBA announced today. Howard received 2,360,096 votes from the fans, more than the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-leading vote-getters combined. He received more votes than all but two players: LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. It's Howard's fourth overall appearance, as coaches named him as a reserve in 2006/07.

Howard's teammate Vince Carter wasn't as lucky. Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson beat Carter for the East's second guard spot by more than 2 million votes. Carter, Jameer Nelson, and Rashard Lewis could still make the team as reserves, but given their underwhelming performances so far this season, it's very possible that Howard will be Orlando's only participant in this year's game.

You can read the complete press release here. Congratulations to Howard for a well-deserved starting position.