Nam Huh / Associated Press
The life of NBA general managers would be significantly easier if they had to choose players from a shortlist of All-Stars, but the writing skills of LeBron James and Kevin Durant were put to the test during TNT’s Inside the NBA On thursday.
James and Durant are the two captains of this year’s NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta as the most voted and summoned.
As the most voted, James won the No. 1 overall choice of the first round, which was used to select the other eight contestants. KD had the first choice of the second round, which was used to prepare the reserves.
Indiana Pacers striker Domantas Sabonis was named Durant’s injury substitute, elevating Boston Celtics striker Jayson Tatum to the starting lineup. Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker was chosen to replace Los Angeles Lakers striker Anthony Davis.
Here is a look at how the two captains were summoned:
First round
- Choose 1 (LeBron): Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Choice 2 (KD): Kyrie Irving
- Choice 3 (LeBron): Stephen Curry
- Choice 4 (KD): Joel Embiid
- Choice 5 (LeBron): Luka Doncic
- Pick 6 (KD): Kawhi Leonard
- Pick 7 (LeBron): Nikola Jokic
- Choice 8 (KD): Bradley Beal / Jayson Tatum
Second round
- Choice 1 (KD): James Harden
- Choice 2 (LeBron): Damian Lillard
- Choice 3 (KD): Devin Booker
- Choice 4 (LeBron): Ben Simmons
- Choice 5 (KD): Zion Williamson
- Choice 6 (LeBron): Chris Paul
- Pick 7 (KD): Zach LaVine
- Pick 8 (LeBron): Jaylen Brown
- Pick 9 (KD): Julius Randle
- Choice 10 (LeBron): Paul George
- Choice 11 (KD): Nikola Vucevic
- Choice 12 (LeBron): Domantas Sabonis
- Pick 13 (KD): Donovan Mitchell
- Choice 14 (LeBron): Rudy Gobert
James wants to defend his All-Star title after defeating Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team in a classic last year in Chicago.
The LeBron team won 157-155 in a round-trip thriller that featured a lot of drama because of Elam’s ending. This type of finishing for a game deactivates the clock and sets a scoring goal for the teams to reach, which ideally eliminates the late foul that drags the end.
Once again, he will be in Atlanta for Sunday’s game.
The contest will be more than just the best players in the league coming and going to brag about on the All-Star stage. It will also raise awareness and honor historically black colleges and universities.
The NBA launch explained the game, “will highlight the importance of HBCUs and raise awareness of the disparate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. In addition, All-Star will feature special performances by HBCU music groups and storytelling and exclusive content from distinguished alumni and students. “
Sunday will also be a busy basketball day in addition to the game. The skills competition and the three-point contest will take place during the pre-game, while the dunk contest will be held at halftime.