Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James were the top overall NBA All-Star vote-getters in the Eastern and Western Conference. On Thursday afternoon, the teams they selected were announced on an pregame episode of NBA on TNT.

To very little surprise, James selected Lakers teammate — and Chicago native — Anthony Davis with the top pick. In fact, James joked the “only reason” he took Davis was because AD grew up in the Windy City. The superstar duo had been ribbing each other about the top pick ever since James was named a captain, but it was always likely they would join forces once again.

Antetokounmpo followed by taking Philadelphia 76ers center (and fellow international) Joel Embiid with his top pick. He would later follow by drafting — in his words — another “African brother” in Toronto Raptors swingman Pascal Siakam.

Some more takeaways from the draft include Giannis exhibiting some favoritism of his own when he selected teammate Khris Middleton first out of the reserves.

For his part, LeBron showed little hesitancy in drafting crosstown rival Kawhi Leonard with his second pick, and he made sure to draft Damian Lillard this time around after Lillard cooked his team while giving birth to the “Logo Dame” nickname during last year's festivities.

James also selected fellow Klutch Sports athlete and Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons for the second consecutive year.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Although he's preparing for the playoffs, LeBron James showed love to Florida A&M football's championship rings.

Randall Barnes ·

lakers lebron james nuggets

Michael Corvo ·

Lakers' LeBron James with hearts all over him (NOT heart eyes), while looking at a hyped up Pelicans' Zion Williamson

Jedd Pagaduan ·

There is no shortage of intrigue for this All-Star Game. For one, it is worth noting that multiple stars from last year, such as Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, are all injured. Similarly, Kyrie Irving was not selected as an Eastern Conference reserve after being one of the top picks last season.

As a result, eight different players (including starters Luka Doncic and Trae Young) are making their NBA All-Star debuts.

The new format should also make for an interesting contest, with score resets and “target scores” (in honor of the late Kobe Bryant) all being implemented. In any case, the 2020 NBA All-Star Game will look drastically different from 2019 — and there might even be some defense involved.