The 62nd annual NBA All-Star Game will be played on Feb. 17, 2013 at the Toyota Center in Houston, which means Palo Alto High grad Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets won't have to travel to watch the action.

Most likely, Lin may not have to travel in order to BE in the action. Lin currently ranks No. 3 among vote-getters for the Western Conference backcourt. He trails only Kobe Bryant of the Lakers (977,444 votes) and Chris Paul of the Clippers (542,564).

Lin had 496,133 votes as of Thursday morning and ranks ahead of teammate James Harden (283,691, Russell Westbrook (232,074), Steve Nash (166,262, Tony Parker (111,032), Ricky Rubio (96,466), Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (78,380) and Manu Ginobili (70,813).

Voters select three frontcourt and two guards from each conference. For the first time ever, fans can vote via social media networks that include Facebook and Twitter, and Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ in China.

Balloting will conclude on January 14 and starters will be announced live on TNT on January 17 at 4 p.m. (PT). Lin currently ranks fifth among all backcourt players in either conference.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.