(Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s 2018 NBA All-Star draft was conducted in private, via conference call, despite both parties saying they wanted it to be televised. Despite the fact that the draft order has remained a secret, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic has uncovered some of it.
According to Thompson, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant was selected first overall by James – big surprise. With his first pick, Curry took Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Curry’s teammate Draymond Green said: “I would’ve taken Giannis first, too.”
James’ next pick was New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis.
Here’s Thompson’s speculation on how the rest played out:
Curry ended up with James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and Joel Embiid. Very likely in that order.
Maybe Thompson has some insider information here, but it seems more likely that Curry would’ve selected Embiid before DeRozan, despite the excellent season DeRozan’s enjoying.
Thompson also reports that James picked ex-teammate Kyrie Irving “higher than anyone would have expected.” Irving was moved to the Boston Celtics over the Summer after demanding to be traded.
In the second round, Curry first selected teammate Klay Thompson. James followed by drafting Oklahoma City Thunder point guard and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook.
It’s worth noting that Curry selected a teammate with his first pick and James did not; the King ended up with Kevin Love on his team, but it remains unclear when he selected him.
UPDATE: Jackie MacMullan of ESPN revealed the complete order for the first round of the NBA All-Star Draft
She says the starters were selected in this order.
1. Kevin Durant (Team LeBron)
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Team Stephen)
3. Anthony Davis (LeBron)
4. James Harden (Steph)
5. Kyrie Irving (LeBron)
6. Joel Embiid (Steph)
7. DeMarcus Cousins (LeBron)
8. DeMar DeRozan (Steph)
9. Klay Thompson (Steph)
10. Russell Westbrook (LeBron)
