SALT LAKE CITY — Giannis Antetokounmpo caught LeBron James and everyone by surprise when he didn’t pick his Bucks’ teammate first, grabbing Damian Lillard as his first reserve before taking his point guard Jrue Holiday.
However, the highlight of the first live draft of the NBA All-Star teams was when Antetokounmpo tried to draft Ja Morant as a reserve, except he is a starter. Host Ernie Johnson had to gently correct him while LeBron just cracked up.
Giannis thought he was getting Ja 😂#NBAAllStarDraft pic.twitter.com/j9kfxnrdy7
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
Here’s how the teams shake out
Team LeBron:
Starters
• LeBron James
• Joel Embiid
• Kyrie Irving
• Luka Dončić
• Nikola Jokić
Reserves
• Anthony Edwards
• Jaylen Brown
• Paul George
• Tyrese Haliburton
• Julius Randle
• De’Aaron Fox
• Jaren Jackson Jr.
Team Giannis:
Starters
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Jayson Tatum
• Ja Morant
• Donovan Mitchell
• Lauri Markkanen
Reserves
• Damian Lillard
• Jrue Holiday
• Shai Gilgious-Alexander
• DeMar DeRozan
• Pascal Siakam
• Bam Adebayo
• Domantas Sabonis
A handful of quick thoughts:
• Let the rumors fly — LeBron picked free agent to be Irving as a starter. Also, let the NBA’s tampering investigation begin. LeBron said this one was for Cleveland (where they won a ring as teammates).
• Maybe the funniest thing was when a camera zoomed in on Antetokounmpo’s notes for the draft and it was broadcast. It had Lillard at the top of the list.
• LeBron went big with the starters, taking Embiid first and later grabbing Jokić.
• Team Giannis reunites former Kings backcourt Fox and Haliburton.
• Markkanen was the last starter taken, and Jaren Jackson Jr. was the last reserve.
