This past Friday, February 11, 2022, this year’s annual NBA All-Star Draft officially took place as Team Lebron and Team Durant chose their selective squads. Both athletes made sure to choose carefully as they both intend on taking home the victory in the 2021-2022 NBA All-Star game taking place this upcoming Sunday, February 20 at 8:00 PM Eastern. Lebron James was awarded the first pick in the draft as he respectfully picked up Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks; the superstars proceeded to rotate their choices.
Aside from Giannis, James ended his specifically selected starting five with Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), and of course himself. Unable to participate in the All-Star game due to a previously injured knee, Durant statistically also chose his preferred starting lineup that consisted of Joel Embid (Philadelphia 76ers), Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors). Shortly after these picks, the two superstars continued to determine their favored reserves.
With Durant receiving the first pick for his substitutes, the 2-time NBA champion decided to take Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), DeJounte Murray (San Antonio Spurs), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks), LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz). In between each of these selections, the Los Angeles Laker star adopted his own group of bench players that included Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns), Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors), and the unexpected last pick in the 2022 All-Star draft James Harden (Philadelphia 76ers). As both squads seem to be evenly stacked heading into this highly anticipated matchup, All-Star games have a past tendency of surprising NBA fans by repeatedly proving that any game can always go either way.