2022 NBA All-Star Game: Team Durant and Team LeBron rosters

See who Kevin Durant and LeBron James drafted ahead of the All-Star Game.

NBA All-Star Game team captains Kevin Durant and LeBron James drafted their squads of NBA superstars to face off in Cleveland on February 20th, and Durant is out for revenge after falling to Team LeBron one year ago.

As the leader in overall fan voting, James was granted the top overall pick – and the four-time champion selected Giannis Antetokounmpo with the first selection.

Durant opted for Sixers star Joel Embiid with his first pick, and filled out his roster with an even split of players from both conferences.

James left former Net James Harden open for Durant to select on the heels of Brooklyn’s blockbuster trade on Thursday – but Durant took Rudy Gobert instead, leaving LeBron to select Harden with the final pick in the draft.

Here are the full rosters for Team Durant and Team LeBron:

LeBron James analyzes Team LeBron after drafting for 2022 NBA All-Star game

LeBron James gives his thoughts on the squad he drafted for the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

The 2022 NBA All-Star game in Cleveland is on Feb. 20, and the teams are official after LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the two captains, drafted their squads Thursday.

Team LeBron’s roster is certainly stacked. Starting the game with LeBron is Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.

Coming off the bench are Luka Doncic, Darius Garland, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet and James Harden.

LeBron analyzed his team after the draft, via @NBAAllStar:

“We solid, baby, we solid. We got fans because we got the hometown kid (Darius Garland)…so we got the fans on our side already. We got international play: Giannis and Joker, we got Luka. Then we got multiple champions: myself, Steph, Giannis, Fred VanVleet. Psshh. We good. We gucci.”

[mm-video type=video id=01ftvka5c5zpwfh576d6 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ftvka5c5zpwfh576d6/01ftvka5c5zpwfh576d6-e5f621327a9b3d268212b2220091914b.jpg]

[listicle id=79085]

2022 Team LeBron All-Star game roster: Full list of draft picks

See who Team LeBron and Team Durant chose for their teams for the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

The 2022 NBA All-Star game is slated for Feb. 10, and the teams are set. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant are the two captains since they got the most fan votes in their respective conferences.

Here are the players available to be drafted for Team LeBron and Team Durant:

Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, Jayson Tatum; Nikola Jokic, Andrew Wiggins, Ja Morant, Stephen Curry

Reserves: Jimmy Butler, Darius Garland, James Harden, Zach LaVine, Khris Middleton, Fred VanVleet, LaMelo Ball (injury replacement for Durant); Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Dejounte Murray (injury replacement for Draymond Green)

See the full order of the picks below:

Boston’s Jayson Tatum named an All-Star starter to replace injured Nets star Kevin Durant

It’s the second year in a row Tatum will stand in that role for Durant.

For the second season in a row, the Boston Celtics will have an All-Star starter on their team — and for the second time in a row, it will be because of Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant is too dinged up to play in the annual exhibition game due to injury.

The NBA announced that All-Star forward Jayson Tatum has been tapped to fill in for Durant as an All-Star starter with the Nets star rehabbing a sprained MCL that will likely have Durant out beyond the 2022 All-Star Game to be held in Cleveland, Ohio on Feb. 20. in the home arena of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Tatum had been named an All-Star reserve last week, but as the fourth-highest frontcourt vote-getter in fan voting, was the next man up as it were.

Taking Tatum’s spot as a reserve in the East is LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets, and taking the place of Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green in the West All-Star reserves is San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, given Green will not play due to nagging injuries as well.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=video id=01fv3c78er59j4s5ekc5 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fv3c78er59j4s5ekc5/01fv3c78er59j4s5ekc5-422ff45a7f992356717e816ca76715cf.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=89006,88477,85947,71141]

[listicle id=89142]

[vertical-gallery id=91461]

Lakers star Anthony Davis discusses not making 2022 NBA All-Star game

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis gave his thoughts on not making the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

Anthony Davis is a 10-year veteran. He has qualified for the All-Star weekend every season in his career — until now. The Los Angeles Lakers star did not make the reserves or starter list in the Western Conference.

Davis went to All-Star weekend his rookie year because he was on the rookie team, and he made eight consecutive appearances for the main All-Star team after that.

But that streak is coming to an end — unless he gets selected as a replacement if another player cannot go. Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green said he wouldn’t be able to play, so the door is still open for Davis.

But with that offer not yet on the table, Davis discussed not making the team this season.

“I kind of figured I wasn’t just cause of the amount of games that I missed,” Davis said after Thursday’s loss to the L.A. Clippers. “It’s my first time in my career where I don’t have to go to All-Star (weekend), so I know my wife is ecstatic. … I mean, I’ll have more opportunities, so I’m sure to be in there.”

Davis has played in 32 out of Los Angeles’ 53 games so far. In his 35.1 minutes per game, he has averaged 23.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.2 steals on 52.4% shooting. If he played in more games, those numbers should’ve earned him a spot.

LeBron James will be the only player representing the Lakers at All-Star weekend since he’s one of two captains. James received the most fan votes in the West to earn the captain nod. If he’s healthy, he’ll start as well.

[mm-video type=video id=01ftxwhxefsyp57h3wqr playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ftxwhxefsyp57h3wqr/01ftxwhxefsyp57h3wqr-ba56fff85da330022bffd34a489a6dfa.jpg]

[listicle id=63390]

The 2022 NBA All-Star Game’s 3 biggest snubs

Naming the three biggest NBA All-Star game snubs of 2022.

The 2022 NBA All-Star starters were announced Jan. 27, and lots of people had mixed feelings about the names that were called. Most notably, people voiced their displeasures with Andrew Wiggins’ selection as an All-Star starter, while the NBA’s best team, the Phoenix Suns, were left without one.

But the chatter around the 10 starters eventually faded away and the attention shifted to which of the remaining players would represent the East and West as reserves.

The TNT crew has finished the All-Star reveal process, and the rosters are officially in. Here’s a look at a few names that absolutely should not have been left off the list.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum officially named an All-Star reserve; Jaylen Brown snubbed

The door to having two Celtics All-Stars remains open via injury replacement, but for now, it will just be Taco Jay in Cleveland next month.

Via multiple sources, the NBA released the full list of players who have been elected to be an All-Star reserve player for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game to be held in Cleveland, Ohio next month. Among them are Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum (his third consecutive All-Star selection) — and absent, his fellow 2021 All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown.

Brown could still be named a replacement for an injured player (and Tatum could be elevated to a starter) given current starter Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets is unlikely to play in the annual inter-team exhibition tilt, to be held on Sunday, March 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

For now, Tatum’s fellow reserves will include Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets, Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=video id=01ftvkwm8g7zvznzx2fn playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ftvkwm8g7zvznzx2fn/01ftvkwm8g7zvznzx2fn-b022f22ffa095b14c986ce24e2830609.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=71150,71141,71128,71106]

[listicle id=71148]

[vertical-gallery id=71177]

The NBA’s new Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP trophy is lovely but it’s also extremely complex

This trophy is cool. But it’s also nuts.

It was an awesome moment in time when the NBA decided to name the All-Star game’s MVP trophy after Kobe Bryant following the legend’s tragic death.

And it totally makes sense. I mean, Bryant is tied for the most All-Star game MVP trophies ever with 4. It’s a totally fitting award to name after one of the greatest All-Stars ever.

Although they renamed the trophy after Bryant, they didn’t change its look at all. It was still just a trophy with basketball on top and the NBA’s logo in the center. It’s fine. Nothing special, though. Certainly, there was room for change. And so the NBA decided to change the look.

Sounds easy enough, right? It’s a trophy. It doesn’t need to be too complicated. Maybe you just make it Bryant doing a fadeaway jumper or maybe it’s just, you know, a bedazzled round basketball instead of a flat one. Something simple should work, right?

The NBA said absolutely not.

Instead of something straight to the point, they gave us this complicated thing to honor Bryant’s career.

First of all, that trophy is not a trophy. It is a mountain. A beautiful mountain, yes. But also a complicated one. This thing has so many details to it.

Just look at all that, man. That’s wild. The tiers of the trophy are 2, 7, 9 and 11 inches tall each and are supposed to represent Bryant’s All-Star game MVP trophies. There’s also an 8 sided base with 24 stars representing his numbers. And there’s a lot more detail there you probably don’t want to hear because I’ve already given you a lot.

It’s dope that the NBA is honoring Kobe in this way. It just would’ve been cool to find an easier way to do it.

Despite this trophy being pretty complicated, fans still appreciated it.

Suns’ Monty Williams named head coach for Team LeBron at 2022 NBA All-Star game

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams will lead LeBron James’ squad in the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams will be the head man for Team LeBron at the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

Williams has helped guide the red-hot Suns to a 40-9 record, the best in the league and, of course, Western Conference.

The head coach with the best record by Feb. 6 receives this nod, and Williams and the Suns are assured of having a better record than the second-place Golden State Warriors by that date.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was named a captain and starter last week after finishing No. 1 in the Western Conference fan voting, making it the fifth straight year he will captain a team.

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is the captain for the Eastern Conference, but the race for the best record by Feb. 6 is not settled.

The 2022 All-Star game will take place in Cleveland on Sunday, Feb. 20.

[mm-video type=video id=01fstmrb8a8kvt5sf6ez playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fstmrb8a8kvt5sf6ez/01fstmrb8a8kvt5sf6ez-46f19f5a28b6dc038fc7a7ce68bd1b18.jpg]

[listicle id=57191]

While no official Celtics All-Star starters are slated for 2022, Jayson Tatum may be poised to become one by a technicality

Per Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach, the St. Louis native is next up if KD misses the game to rehab a sprained knee.

The starters for the 2022 NBA All-Star game have been announced, and among them, there is not a single Boston Celtic player to be found, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be one once the mid-February friendly is played in Cleveland Ohio.

Confused? Chalk it up to the injury of Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant, whose injury will all but certainly keep him out of the annual exhibition game. Per Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach, that puts the next-highest vote getter at the frontcourt position in line to start — and in this year’s returns, that would be a one Jayson Tatum.

While not official, keep an eye out for such a designation should KD eschew the All-Star game for the second season in a row, which seems inevitable given the reporting by Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes and the event taking place on Feb. 20.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=video id=01fstn8tf05cdwpd5s71 playlist_id=01eqbzegwgnrje4tv2 player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fstn8tf05cdwpd5s71/01fstn8tf05cdwpd5s71-77f741ab78f665e0929a2983ef139149.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=70862,70854,70850,70833]

[listicle id=70905]

[vertical-gallery id=70838]