Is It Collusion If It’s All-Star Weekend?

07 Feb, 2019

The team rosters for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, as selected by All-Star captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, were revealed tonight on TNT in the first televised NBA All-Star Draft.

The Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant was selected by James with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA All-Star Draft.  Golden State’s Stephen Curry was drafted by Antetokounmpo with the No. 2 overall pick.  See below for the complete pick-by-pick results from the NBA All-Star Draft.   

The 68th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, airing live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States at 8 p.m. ET.  NBA All-Star 2019 will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets. 

James and Antetokounmpo drafted the NBA All-Star Game team rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference, making picks without regard to a player’s conference affiliation or position.  Special All-Star roster additions Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat were also selected in the draft. 

During the draft, the eight remaining All-Star Game starters (aside from James and Antetokounmpo) were selected in the first round.  The 14 reserves were chosen in the second round, followed by Nowitzki and Wade in the third round to complete each team’s 13-player active roster.  James, the top overall finisher in fan voting, was awarded the first pick in the first round and the third round.  Antetokounmpo made the first pick of the second round.  The captains alternated picks in each round until all players in that round had been selected.

Conducting the NBA All-Star Draft on the same day as the NBA trade deadline, the captains did some dealing of their own.  After the draft, Team Giannis acquired Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder from Team LeBron in exchange for Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. 

For the second year in a row, both NBA All-Star Game teams will play for community-based organizations, with donations directed toward outreach efforts that benefit the All-Star host city.  The winning team’s charity will receive a $350,000 donation from the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), while the losing team’s organization will receive $150,000.     

Team LeBron has selected to play for Right Moves for Youth, a school-based, dropout-prevention and student-support program in Charlotte that provides resources and guidance to help teenagers improve their school attendance, behavior and grades.  Team Giannis has chosen to play for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, which aims to eliminate hunger by soliciting and distributing food and household items to people in need.

With Antetokounmpo representing the Eastern Conference in an Eastern Conference arena, his team has been designated the home team and was able to choose between wearing black or white uniforms.  Team Giannis selected the white uniforms.  Team LeBron was assigned the black uniforms as the visiting team.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game, choosing a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced.  Silver’s selection would join the team that drafted the replaced player.  If a replaced player is a starter, the head coach of that team would choose a new starter.  Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone will lead Team LeBron, and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer will guide Team Giannis.

NBA.com

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