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Tim BontempsESPN
For the past two years, LeBron James could not have Giannis Antetokounmpo on his All-Star team, because the two were captains of their respective teams.
But this year, with Kevin Durant winning another captaincy alongside James, he made sure he would play alongside the NBA’s two-time Most Valuable Player, taking him with the first overall pick of the Thursday’s All-Star Game. fair at night.
“I just try to choose players that complement each other,” said James before taking Antetokounmpo to start Wednesday’s draft, when asked why he won the first three times he was captain. “We are on the ground, just try to play the game the right way. It is an All-Star game, so there will be some mischief out there, but for most of the game we just play the right way and try to win.”
The top vote winners from the East and West Conferences, then, went back and forth in the selection of the remaining seven holders for next month’s All-Star Game, as voted for by a combination of fans, players and members of the media.
The last two players on the board ended up being Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, of the league leader, Utah Jazz. Mitchell ended up being selected by Durant, while James took Gobert.
Jazz is at the top of the NBA with a record of 27-9, and its two All-Stars going for the last time caused some controversy on the TNT set. James tried to defend himself and Durant from how things had changed.
“I just want to say something, because there is no slander at Utah Jazz,” said James with a smile. “But you need to understand, just like in growing video games, we never played Utah. Even if Karl Malone and John Stockton were great, we never would have chosen these guys. Never.”
Charles Barkley then hindered James’ task by his wit in writing, saying, “LeBron says he needs some size and has 7-5 Gobert and takes 6-2 [Domantas] Sabonis “, attracting a lot of laughter from everyone involved.
This is the first time that one of the captains has not participated in the game, as Durant is away until after the All-Star Break due to a thigh strain that has left him out since the beginning of February. Thus, with Celtics striker Jayson Tatum replacing Durant in the starting lineup – which meant there were nine players to choose from – Durant ended up with the final two choices of the starting lineup and then got the first choice of the reserve round.
Finally, James chose Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic to start alongside him in Atlanta on Sunday night, while Durant’s starting group will be his Brooklyn Nets teammate Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard and St. Louis natives – and close friends – Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum.
In the reserve round, Durant’s first choice was his other teammate, James Harden, followed by Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle, Nikola Vucevic and Mitchell. James, meanwhile, took Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, Chris Paul, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, Sabonis and Gobert.
There were also choices that the two men were frustrated at being off the board, with Durant needing to pause for a moment after wanting to catch Simmons, and James saying he hoped to put Williamson in the draft.
Before the two chose the teams, they showed a clip of Durant and James talking before Durant’s 2010 All-Star Game debut in Dallas.
“I was nervous to talk to Bron in that little sequence over there,” said Durant with a laugh.
The two also announced their choices for the charities that both teams will play on Sunday, with Team LeBron playing for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Team Durant playing for the United Negro College Fund.
“To be able to shed light on this program, shed light on these children, it means a lot to me and my foundation and the things we do in my hometown,” said James when explaining his choice.
“It is an honor to represent so many people and use this platform to help promote the education of our young people, just the world at large,” said Durant. “So, we’re looking forward to it.”
While Durant is not going to play the All-Star Game, James – despite not having seen Wednesday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, the first game he lost this season – will be on the court and playing.
“I’m fine,” said James, when asked how he is feeling. “Obviously, it’s a long season and I want to make sure my body and mind are as refreshed as possible in the second half of the season. So it was a good first half and I hope it can be a better second half, so looking forward to the final stretch. “