Captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets have selected the team rosters for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, as revealed in TNT’s presentation of the NBA All-Star Draft.
The matchup between Team LeBron and Team Durant in the 71st NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, airing live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States and reaching fans in 215 countries and territories in 59 languages.
In the NBA All-Star Draft, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected by James with the first overall pick. Joining Antetokounmpo and James as Team LeBron starters are Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Chicago Bulls guard/forward DeMar DeRozan and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić. With his first pick among reserves, James selected Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić.
Team LeBron’s other reserves are Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid was selected by Durant with the second overall pick in the NBA All-Star Draft. Joining Embiid as Team Durant starters are Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. With his first pick among reserves, Durant selected Phoenix guard Devin Booker. Team Durant’s other reserves are Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Utah center Rudy Gobert, Chicago guard Zach LaVine, Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton, San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Tatum, who was selected to the NBA All-Star Game as a reserve, was drafted with the starters as a replacement for Durant, who is unable to play in the game. Warriors forward Draymond Green, who is unable to play in the NBA All-Star Game, has been assigned to Team Durant because the player who replaced him (Murray) was selected by Team Durant.
James and Durant drafted the team rosters from the pool of players selected as starters and reserves in each conference. The two captains selected the starters in the first round and the reserves in the second round, making each pick without regard to a player’s conference affiliation or position.
As the top overall finisher in fan voting, James was awarded the first pick in the first round. Durant made the first pick in the second round. The captains alternated picks in each round, with Durant getting the final two picks in the first round, which had nine players instead of eight because of Tatum’s addition. As part of the NBA All-Star Game format, the two teams will compete to win each quarter for their respective beneficiaries. Team LeBron will play for the Kent State I Promise Scholars Program, which provides higher education opportunities and wrap-around support for underserved I Promise students in Northeast Ohio. Team Durant will play for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, the largest hunger relief organization in Northeast Ohio, which annually serves more than 400,000 people and provides life-saving food benefits to those in need.
A total of $750,000 will be contributed to the two organizations through the NBA All-Star Game. Each organization will start the NBA All-Star Game with a $150,000 contribution. For each of the first three quarters, $100,000 will be awarded to the organization selected by the winner of the quarter – a total of $300,000 for those three quarters. Each of the first three quarters will be played with each team’s score starting at zero.
The winner of the quarter will be the team with the higher score at the end of the 12-minute quarter. The organization selected by the winner of the NBA All-Star Game will be awarded $150,000. The winner of the NBA All-Star Game will be the first team to reach (or surpass) the Final Target Score. The Final Target Score will be the leading team’s total score after the first three quarters plus 24 points. For example, if the leading team’s total score after the first three quarters is 100, the Final Target Score would be 124 (100 + 24). The fourth quarter will be untimed and the NBA All-Star Game will end when a team makes a basket or free throw to reach (or surpass) the Final Target Score first.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game. The player who is named as a replacement would join the team that drafted the replaced player. If a replaced player is a starter, the head coach of that team would name a new starter from his team’s group of reserves. Phoenix head coach Monty Williams will coach Team LeBron. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra will coach Team Durant.