11-time All-Star Kevin Durant and Western Conference captain drafted their teams on Thursday night ahead of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. James had the first pick of this highly anticipated draft. Earlier on Thursday, Shams Charania of the Athletic reported out that the King would select Giannis Antetokounmpo with his first pick.
When the drafted commenced, that was exactly what happened.
With his first selection, Kevin Durant picked his Brooklyn teammate, Kyrie Irving. Durant filled out his starting lineup mostly with Eastern Conference All-Stars.
Pick #2 – Joel Embiid
Pick #3 – Kawhi Leonard
Pick #4 – Bradley Beal
Pick #5 – Jayson Tatum
LeBron James went with:
Pick #1: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Pick #2: Stephen Curry
Pick #3: Luka Doncic
Pick #4: Nikola Jokic
As the draft continued, Durant got to choose first for the All-Star reserves. The two-time champion said “this is a pretty obvious pick” as he chose his Brooklyn teammate James Harden. There was no doubt in Durant’s mind his team was going to play alongside the Beard’s signature stepback three instead going up against it.
The following picks became:
James’ Pick #5: Damian Lillard
Durant’s Pick #6: Devin Booker
James’ Pick #6: Ben Simmons
In disappointment, Kevin Durant smiled and said, “I wanted Ben.” He carried on and took Zion Williamson with his seventh pick. LeBron James almost mirrored Durant’s reaction to his pick of Simmons and smiled. James’ admitted, “Thats a great pick.” The two went back and forth once more as the picks eventually became:
James’ Pick #7 – Chris Paul
Durant’s Pick #8 – Zach Lavine
James Pick #8 – Jaylen Brown
Durant’s Pick #9 – Julius Randle
James’ Pick #9 – Paul George
Durant’s Pick #10 – Nikola Vucevic
James’ Pick #10 – Domantas Sabonis
Durant’s Pick #11- Donovan Mitchell
James’ Pick #11- Rudy Gobert
At the end of the draft, the TNT crew accused LeBron James for slandering the Utah Jazz. James surprisingly and of course jokingly roasted the Utah Jazz. He said, “There’s no slander to the Utah Jazz, but you guys gotta understand just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah — as good as Karl Malone and John Stockton are” Kevin Durant and LeBron James couldn’t stop laughing as this marked the end of the 2021 NBA All-Star Draft.
#TeamDurant is locked in 🔒#NBAAllStar Draft presented by @Nike pic.twitter.com/enNd0yUP2J
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 5, 2021
The picks are in for #TeamLeBron 🔥#NBAAllStar Draft presented by @Nike pic.twitter.com/a4hnVhuIRa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 5, 2021
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