Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is leading the fan vote among the Eastern Conference guards for the NBA All-Star, despite his controversial anti-Semitism scandal.

The NBA released the first return of fans votes for this season’s All-Star on Thursday with Irving, 30, surprisingly emerging in the top spot for guards in his conference, ahead of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

The fact that Irving is still a fan favorite comes as somewhat of a shock this season after he endured backlash and criticism for posting a link to a controversial film.

Kyrie Irving is leading the fan vote for the Eastern Conference guards in the NBA All-Star

In October, he shared a link to the Amazon page for the 2018 film ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’ which contains anti-Semitic tropes.

Irving was suspended by the Nets for a minimum of five games, after he initially refused to apologize and said he had no anti-Semitic beliefs when meeting with reporters at the Nets’ practice facility.

The anti-Semitism row even led to sportswear giant Nike ends its partnership with the embattled star.

The anti-Semitism row led to sportswear giant Nike ending its partnership with Irving

Irving did eventually offer a belated apology following his suspension and apologized again to the Jewish community. 

After missing eight games through suspension, his second apology paved the way for his return to the court and the Nets have won 18 out of their last 22 games and are currently tied for second in the Eastern Conference. 

Irving is the second-highest scorer on the team this season behind Kevin Durant, which has surely boosted his chances to add another NBA All-Star Game to his accomplishments