Team captains Lebron James (left) and Giannis Antetokoumpo (right) before the 2023 NBA All-Star Game at Vivint Arena.
With the 2023 NBA All-Star field set, it was left up to LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo to divvy up the star talent into teams, playground style.
Team LeBron
Reserve picks (in order)
- Anthony Edwards
- Jaylen Brown
- Paul George
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Julius Randle
- De’Aaron Fox
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
Starter picks (in order)
- Joel Embiid
- Kyrie Irving
- Luka Doncic
- Nikola Jokic
Team Giannis
Reserve picks (in order)
- Damian Lillard
- Jrue Holiday
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- DeMar DeRozan
- Pascal Siakam
- Bam Adebayo
- Domantas Sabonis
Starter picks (in order)
- Jayson Tatum
- Ja Morant
- Donovan Mitchell
- Lauri Markkanen
The captains took turns drafting from the pool of 22 players voted into the All-Star field. First, they selected from the 14 All-Star reserves, then from the eight All-Star starters.
The reserves are selected in the 2023 All-Star Draft.
The starters are selected in the 2023 All-Star Draft.
The draft featured multiple entertaining moments, including Antetokounmpo attempting to select Ja Morant with a reserve pick before being reminded the Grizzlies superstar was actually a starter. Antetokounmpo did eventually draft Morant with his second pick from the starters pool.
Giannis was so excited he picked Ja before Ja was eligible to be picked ????#NBAAllStarDraft presented by Jordan Brand
????: Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/XeyXECAtCb— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2023
For the first time, the NBA All-Star Draft took place right before the game. The two team captains, LeBron and Giannis, drafted the team rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference.
The process began with the captains, who were determined by the All-Star voting results. The leader for each conference, LeBron James (West) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (East) got to select his squad and have the team named after him.
Both superstar captains came prepared, James with a sheet of paper with notes, Antetokounmpo with an entire notebook he proudly displayed to the Salt Lake City crowd.
“You got a sheet of paper, Giannis has a book over here” ????
Captain LeBron and Captain Giannis are picking their teams NOW on TNT#NBAAllStarDraft presented by Jordan Brand
????: Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/b2xUABT7SX— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2023
Team LeBron held the first pick of the starters since James was the overall leading vote-getter in the All-Star balloting process. Conversely, Antetokounmpo was granted the first pick of the reserves.
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