The NBA All-star draft concluded yesterday, with two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Steph Curry and four-time MVP LeBron James participating in the untelevised event.
It was later revealed that James picked Curry's co-MVP teammate, Kevin Durant, with his first pick. LeBron James was first to pick after getting the most number of All-star votes. Steph Curry followed, and the rest was in an alternating order.
The rosters for Team James and Team Curry were shortly released publicly after the draft. As it was shown, LeBron James has a starting five comprised of reigning MVP Finals Kevin Durant, New Orleans Pelicans' DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, and former teammate Kyrie Irving.
While the rest of the players being a part of Team James are by no surprise, many actually found it odd for James to select long-time rival, Durant. While there is really no "bad blood" between James and Durant, after the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers clashed in the NBA Finals last year, the two were clearly seen as rivals on the court.
It was not proven that Durant was LeBron's first pick initially; however, the former scoring champion later cleared up rumors in an interview with new reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic Bay. "What, we gonna keep this a mystery?" Durant said in the interview after he was asked whether he was picked first or not.
After Slater's interview last Wednesday, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude from TNT conducted a courtside interview with Durant after their Thursday home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"Well, finally someone picked me number one. That feels pretty good. It's going to be fun competing against Steph, Klay, and Draymond," said Durant. It is to be noted that among the Warriors All-stars, only the reigning Finals MVP was selected by James.
In the same interview, it was also revealed that Curry selected Milwaukee Bucks' Greek superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo after Durant came first. Antetokounmpo is highly regarded as a "defensive version" of Durant, as the two-time All-star has an identical body frame.
While James and Durant teaming up is a novelty outside of the Olympics, fans should be relieved that Durant is excited to play against his teammates.
