The 24 NBA All-Stars have been determined, but we don't yet know whether they'll be playing for Team LeBron or Team Giannis. A quick refresher: LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the two team captains by virtue of being the top fan vote-getters in their respective conferences, and they will pick their teams from the entire pool of players, regardless of conference affiliation.
The only stipulation is that they have to pick from the group of eight starters first to fill out their starting fives (including themselves, of course) before moving on to their seven reserves each, from the pool of 14.
There's obviously a lot of guesswork in figuring out who's going to draft whom and where, but below is a decent guess at the picks and order in something of an All-Star mock draft. Feel free to, you know, mock this ...
Mock draft: Starters
| Team LeBron |   |
| This is a no-brainer. LeBron took Davis as his first reserve last season when he was still "hoping" Davis would soon become his teammate on the Lakers. Now Davis actually is his teammate and there's no way LeBron is going in another direction with the No. 1 overall pick. It's the only lock in this draft. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
| Leonard might've been the only thing between Giannis and an NBA championship last season. He'll relish the chance to get Kawhi on his team for a change. | |
| Team LeBron |   |
| Last year LeBron went with Kyrie Irving with his second pick. He'll use the same logic in drafting a point guard this time around, but one more in the mold of himself in the 6-foot-7 Doncic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. | |
| Team Giannis |  |
| At this point in the draft last season, Giannis had already secured Stephen Curry. Trae Young is the closet thing to Curry available, but Giannis is going to draft with the intention of winning the game, and Harden is the best on the board who fills the shooting/passing need. | |
| Team LeBron |  |
| LeBron has plenty of size on the perimeter with he and Doncic. He needs a shooter, and I think Walker being the last starter picked last season carries some weight this season. He doesn't deserve to be overlooked again, and LeBron is aware of everything. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
Young is tailor-made for an All-Star Game with his flashy passing and deep shooting, and Giannis will love the idea of Young throwing lobs all night. Defensive concerns are moot in this game. | |
| Team LeBron |   |
| LeBron passes on Joel Embiid with his last starter pick. He loves versatility, and Siakam fits right in. Plus, LeBron already has Davis as his big, and playing with two bigs in an All-Star Game is, well, not very fun. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
This is obviously no knock on Embiid, going last in the draft among starters. It's merely a function of more versatile playmakers being more tailored to the All-Star Game. Giannis won't love Embiid being inside, even if only on a possession here and there, when he's trying to attack with a wide-open lane. | |
Mock draft: Reserves
| Team LeBron |   |
| Lillard is completely out of his mind right now, having scored 47 or more in each of his last five games, including a 50-point and 61-point game. There's no reserve anywhere close to his level right now. | |
| Team Giannis |  |
| Giannis made a fuss that the Bucks deserved more than two All-Stars, so it would be strange to see him pass on drafting his own teammate while trying to back his teammates in the press at the same time. | |
| Team LeBron |   |
| I wouldn't be surprised if LeBron took Paul with his first reserve pick instead of Lillard, but I'll say he grabs Lillard first and then waits for one of his best friends in Paul knowing Giannis is likely to go with Middleton. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
| Butler is having a fantastic season. Erik Spoelstra called it "a joke" that he wasn't named an All-Star starter. To get a fringe MVP candidate at this point in the draft is a win Giannis won't pass up. | |
| Team LeBron |  |
| Legacy pick here. You could make a strong case Devin Booker should've made the All-Star team over Westbrook in the first place, but Westbrook is a fellow-player favorite and LeBron won't let him slip too far out of respect. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
| Simmons adds more length to Giannis' defense if this becomes a game in the fourth quarter. He'll throw plenty of sweet passes. And the real All-Star bonus: You won't have to worry about him stealing any shots from anyone. | |
| Team LeBron |   |
| LeBron counters Team Giannis taking Embiid by adding The Joker, who joins LeBron, Paul and Doncic on what is becoming an elite passing team. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
| Tatum makes his first All-Star appearance, and Team Giannis becomes the beneficiary of one of the silkiest skillsets in the league. | |
| Team LeBron |   |
| A little "no hard feelings" hat tip from LeBron for the Lakers shipping Ingram to New Orleans in exchange for Anthony Davis, even though it has worked out fantastically for Ingram. Safe to say it has also worked out pretty well for the Lakers. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
| A steal this late in the draft. Mitchell is a highlight factory and another guy whose game is perfectly suited for the All-Star setting. | |
| Team LeBron |  |
| It's tough seeing Lowry go this late. I feel like he's always going just a little bit overlooked. But it's just how I have a feeling it's going to shake out. | |
| Team Giannis |  |
| If you haven't watched much of the Heat this season, you'll be surprised to see what a terrific passer and point-forward ball-handler Adebayo has become. | |
| Team LeBron |   |
| Probably the All-Star common fans know the least about, Sabonis is a beast for a Pacers team looking like a dark horse to make some real noise in the playoffs. | |
| Team Giannis |   |
| Team Giannis locks in its Twin Towers with Embiid and Gobert, who goes as Mr. Irrelevant here, if there can be such a thing among All-Stars. It's no knock on Gobert. He's just the antithesis about what is appealing about All-Star Games. Rim protection is for the playoffs. | |
Mock draft results
| TEAM LEBRON | TEAM GIANNIS |
|---|---|
LeBron James, F, LAL | Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, MIL |
Anthony Davis, F, LAL | Kawhi Leonard, F, LAC |
Luka Doncic, G, DAL | James Harden, G, HOU |
Kemba Walker, G, BOS | Trae Young, G, ATL |
Pascal Siakam, F, TOR | Joel Embiid, C, PHI |
Damian Lillard, G, POR | Khris Middleton, F, MIL |
Chris Paul, G, OKC | Jimmy Butler, F, MIA |
Russell Westbrook, G, HOU | Ben Simmons, G, PHI |
Nikola Jokic, C, DEN | Jayson Tatum, F, BOS |
Brandon Ingram, F, NO | Donovan Mitchell, G, UTA |
Kyle Lowry, G, TOR | Bam Adebayo, F, MIA |
Domantas Sabonis, F, IND | Rudy Gobert, C, UTA |
