In 2018, the NBA adopted a new format for the All-Star Game. They ditched the East-West format (well, sort of. They didn’t eliminate it for voting ballots, and that should probably be the next step) in favor of a new structure where the two players receiving the most fan votes become the “captains,” and those captains draft their team. Last year, the captains – LeBron James and Stephen Curry – hashed out their draft over the phone, which seemed like a major waste. This time around, the league will capitalize on the entertainment that will inevitably arise from the draft.
The 2019 NBA All-Star Draft will be televised on TNT on February 7, 2019, at 7 p.m. ET, the NBA announced Thursday via press release:
The NBA announced today that the 2019 NBA All-Star Draft will be televised by TNT on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. ET. The team rosters for the 68th NBA All-Star Game will be revealed during a special NBA All-Star Draft Show, which will be followed by an extended version of the TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader pregame show.
The two NBA All-Star Game team captains will draft the rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference, making their selections regardless of conference affiliation. The captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference. More details about the 2019 NBA All-Star Draft will be announced at a later date.
As of Thursday, the players receiving the most votes from each conference are LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers in the West and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks in the East. Second in the West is Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic, and second in the East is Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving.
