LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant Voted Favorite Players By NBA Rookies

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James kept his place as the favorite player of NBA rookies for the second year in a row while Golden State Warriors duo Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant came in at joint second. The annual rookie survey recently took place as 36 members from the class of 2018 voted on a number of categories.

Their predicted Rookie of the Year was a tie between Phoenix's DeAndre Ayton and Cleveland's Collin Sexton, both of whom earned 18 percent of the votes, while Chicago's Wendell Carter Jr. was voted to have the best career with 13 percent of the votes.

As for their favorite NBA player, it was James who won with 29 percent of the votes. Curry and Durant both earned nine percent of the votes while the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dwayne Wade, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul each got six percent.

James winning the rookie vote is no surprise. He is probably the most popular player on the planet, arguably one of the greatest players of all time and is still playing at the very top level despite turning 34 later this year.

In addition, he is continuing to inspire the next generation through his business empire and efforts to help his community, particularly with the recent opening of his I Promise school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

In 2017, James, who was with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time, was also voted favorite player with 31 percent of the votes. He has notably led this category three times, each time when he was with a different team, having also topped the voting in 2012 when he was with Miami Heat.

As for Curry and Durant, it's not surprising to see them in the top three either. The Warriors duo have helped the Bay Area side to two successive championships and like James, are two of the most popular and marketable players in the world.

From 2014 to 2016, it was Durant who also led the category when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, though his popularity has seemingly dropped since, following his controversial move to the Warriors two years ago.

Lakers legend and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant led the voting in 2007, 2010 and 2013, and was voted as favorite player by this year's class as well despite retiring in 2016.

Others also receiving votes were DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Paul George, James Harden, Jrue and Justin Holiday, Kyrie Irving, Jusuf Nurkic, John Wall, and Nick Young.

New Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard is the one name missing from the previous year's votes, though his injury problems which led to him featuring in just nine games during the regular season may have played a role.

As for the other interesting rookie votes, Minnesota's Keita Bates-Diop, the 48th pick, was voted with 13 percent to be the biggest steal for his selection in the NBA Draft.

Atlanta's Trae Young was selected best shooter and best playmaker with 47 percent and 35 percent of the votes respectively while Memphis Grizzlies guard Jevon Carter was voted best defender with 29 percent.