The NBA All-Star Game takes place this Sunday, and the league did things a little bit different this season. Starting in 2018, the league changed the format of the teams to a playground-style draft, with the two leading vote-getters in each conference serving as captains. It's a pretty interesting way to switch things up from the classic Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference, and added several interesting storylines to what had become a boring final event of All-Star Weekend in the past.
Pretty much everyone likes the new style of doing things, but there was one main complaint. Last year, the actual draft was done in secret, and announced at a later date. It should be televised for maximum excitement and drama, most argued, and the league agreed. This time around, they did it live on national television and fans got to see what order players were selected.
The two captains are LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks this time around. LeBron got the first pick in the starters round because he received the most votes, as well as the first pick in the special additions round, while Giannis got the first pick in the reserves round.
Here are the final rosters (in order of selection).
One additional note is that there was a trade following the draft. Team LeBron sent Russell Westbrook to Team Giannis for Ben Simmons.
Team LeBron:
Starters:
- LeBron James
- Kevin Durant (first Team LeBron pick)
- Kyrie Irving
- Kawhi Leonard
- James Harden
Reserves:
- Anthony Davis
- Klay Thompson
- Damian Lillard
- Ben Simmons
- LaMarcus Aldridge
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Bradley Beal
Special addition:
- Dwyane Wade
Team Giannis:
Starters:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Steph Curry (first Team Giannis pick)
- Joel Embiid
- Paul George
- Kemba Walker
Reserves:
- Khris Middleton
- Nikola Jokic
- Russell Westbrook
- Blake Griffin
- D'Angelo Russell
- Nikola Vucevic
- Kyle Lowry
Special addition:
- Dirk Nowitzki