NBA All-Star Game draft: LeBron James, Kevin Durant select Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert last
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The two NBA All-Stars have helped the Utah Jazz finish with the league’s best record heading into the All-Star break. No matter.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were the last two picks in the NBA All-Star Game draft Thursday night.
“There is no slander to the Utah Jazz,” LeBron James insisted. “You guys got to understand. Just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. Even as great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we never picked those guys in video games. Never.”
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As James said those words, Kevin Durant howled in laughter. But he may have been just as guilty. Durant chose James Harden, Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle and Nikola Vucevic before selecting Mitchell. James selected Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, Chris Paul, Jaylen Brown, Paul George and Domantas Sabonis as reserves before Gobert.
The interesting irony: Jazz coach Quin Snyder will coach James’ team by virtue of Utah having the Western Conference’s best record.
James and Durant were All-Star captains because they were the highest vote getters to start Sunday in Atlanta. But with Durant sidelined with a left hamstring injury, the NBA named Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum as his replacement because he had the next highest vote total.
Still, James and Durant were the ones that made the selections. James chose Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as his No. 1 pick before Durant chose Brooklyn Nets teammate Kyrie Irving with his first selection. The rest of James’ starters included Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Durant also chose Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal as his starters. James and Durant alternated picks until Durant received the final two picks in the first round, which had nine players instead of eight because of Tatum’s addition.
James and Durant made their selections without regard to a player’s conference affiliation or position. But TNT analyst Kenny Smith couldn’t help but wonder if at least James made his selections with regards to whether the Los Angeles Lakers could sign that player eventually. James, who has gone 3-0 as an All-Star captain, had previously selected marquee free agents as teammates.
After James and Durant laughed at that inquiry, James noted, “I don’t see many upcoming free agents.” Although Leonard said he plans to opt out of his player option, he is expected to resign with the Clippers.
“I just try to pick players that can complement one another. When we’re out on the floor, we just try to play the game the right way,” James said. “It’s an All-Star Game, so there’s going to be some shenanigans out there. But for the most part, just try to play the game the right way and come up with a win.”
Durant admitted that he did zero preparation for the draft, saying, “I’m just going off playing against these guys and knowing them.” Throughout the draft, however, both James and Durant made picks based off of talent and certain allegiances.
James selected Antetokounmpo first because of his front-court dominance and then Curry because of his superior shooting. But then James also selected Doncic, whom James had wanted to sign to his “Team LeBron” shoe line. Durant selected Irving as his first starter, and his first pick for the reserves also went to a current teammate in Harden.
James selected Lillard first among reserves after saying he is among the league’s most disrespected players. James looked disappointed when Durant then chose Booker, whom James argued was disrespected by not receiving enough votes to become an All-Star reserve. Booker made the team when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver selected him as an injury replacement for Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who remains sidelined with a strained right calf. So James settled for Simmons, whom James labeled “Mr. Play-hard-every-possession.” After Durant chose Williamson, James conceded, “I wanted that pick.” So James settled for Paul, who has remained a close friend.
James praised Durant for choosing LaVine, saying, “That boy got game.” James then selected Brown and called him “underappreciated.” One could not help but wonder if the same label applied to Clippers forward Paul George. James selected George with his fifth pick before adding, “the only time I’ll root for this guy or team because we are enemies.” It was not entirely clear if James said those words in a joking or serious manner.
Gobert and Mitchell might feel the same disrespect. Gobert is a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, ranks second in the league in blocks (2.7) and third in rebounds (13.3). Yet, Durant selected Vucevic and James picked Domantas Sabonis ahead of him. Mitchell has overseen a top-five offense, but that was not enough until Durant chose him over Gobert because he said he wanted scoring. For what it’s worth, Durant and Gobert were also involved in a scuffle during the 2017 NBA playoffs.
On Sunday, both teams will find out whether that will affect how Mitchell and Gobert play with their All-Star teammates and against their All-Star opponents.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA All-Star Game draft: Kevin Durant, LeBron James select Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert last