Team captains Lebron James (left) and Giannis Antetokoumpo (right) prior to the 2023 NBA All-Star Game at Vivint Arena.
With the 2023 NBA All-Star Field Set, it was left to LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo to split the starting talent into playground-style teams.
Team LeBron
Reserve picks (in order)
- Anthony Edwards
- Jaylen Brown
- PaulGeorge
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Julius Randle
- De’Aaron Fox
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
Starter Picks (in order)
- Joel Embid
- Kyrie Irving
- Luke Doncic
- Nikola Jokić
Team Giannis
Reserve picks (in order)
- Damien Lillard
- Jrue holiday
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- DeMar DeRozan
- Pascal Siakam
- Bam Adebayo
- Domantas Sabonis
Starter Picks (in order)
- Jayson Tatum
- Yes Morant
- Donovan Mitchell
- Lauri Markkanen
The captains took turns choosing from the pool of 22 players selected to the All-Star field. First they chose from the 14 All-Star reserves, then from the eight All-Star starters.
The reserves will be selected in the 2023 All-Star Draft.
Entrants will be selected in the 2023 All-Star Draft.
The draft featured several entertaining moments, including Antetokounmpo trying to pick Ja Morant with a reserve pick before being reminded that the Grizzlies superstar was actually a starter. Antetokounmpo eventually drafted Morant with his second pick from the starting pool.
Giannis was so excited that he chose Yes before Yes could be chosen 🤣#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 directly before the game. The two team captains, LeBron and Giannis, drafted the rosters from the pool of players selected as starters and reserves in each conference.
The process began with the captains being determined by the All-Stars’ voting results. The leaders of each conference, LeBron James (West) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (East), were allowed to choose his roster and name the team after him.
Both Superstar captains came prepared, James with a sheet of paper with notes, Antetokounmpo with an entire notebook which he proudly displayed to the Salt Lake City crowd.
“You have a sheet of paper, Giannis has a book here” 🤣
Captain LeBron and Captain Giannis are NOW picking their teams 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 as James was the overall leading vote collector in the All-Star voting process. Conversely, Antetokounmpo was granted first pick of the reserves.