Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was faced with a tough decision during the opening round of the NBA All Star Draft on Thursday night, needing to choose a point guard between Kemba Walker, Trae Young and James Harden. Despite having three options available, Giannis was clearly only considering two - and neither was the man he beat out for the MVP award a season ago.
Prior to making his selection, Giannis mentioned that he was torn between Walker and Young, which paved the way for Charles Barkley to chime in, "You don't want the dribbler?" In response, the Greek Freak took a lighthearted jab at Harden, saying with a laugh, "I want somebody that's gonna pass the ball, that's all I want."
Giannis ultimately selected Kemba and LeBron had an opportunity to make things extremely awkward by selecting Trae Young, but he went with The Beard instead. Although Harden has a reputation for getting up a ton of shots, it's worth noting that he is currently averaging 7.3 assists per game which ranks eighth in the league. Walker, meanwhile, averages five dimes per night.
Overall, it looks like Harden and Team LeBron will have the last laugh on February 16th because, to put it plainly, the Greek Freak completely dropped the ball again. Click here to see what #NBATwitter had to say about Giannis' draft strategy.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo Is Getting Roasted Again For His Terrible All Star Draft
Team LeBron is STACKED.
For the third straight year it'll be Team Giannis vs Team LeBron in the All Star Game. And for the third straight year LeBron dominated Giannis during the All Star Draft.
Prior to Thursday night's double-header, TNT aired the video of both superstars going pick-for-pick, starting with LeBron who selected his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis No. 1 overall. Giannis responded by selecting Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid with his first pick - and it was all down hill from there.
Yes, every player in the pool is an All Star and you never know what can happen out on the court - but Team LeBron is absolutely stacked when compared to the Greek Freak's roster. I mean, look at this lineup of reserves for Team LeBron: Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokic, Chris Paul and Domantas Sabonis. LeBron's starting lineup consists of Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Doncic, James Harden. Not great for Team Giannis!
The Greek Freak's starters are: Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker and Trae Young. The reserves Antetokounmpo drafted, in order, include Bam Adebayo, Rudy Gobert, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Ingram and Donovan Mitchell.
On paper it certainly looks like Team LeBron has a clear advantage, but we'll have to see how everything plays out on the court on Sunday, February 16th. Thus far, Team LeBron is 2-0 against Team Giannis.
Check out the reactions to Giannis' draft strategy below, and click here to see the new All Star Game format in honor of Kobe Bryant.
LeBron James & Giannis Draft Their All-Star Teams: Full Results
Giannis isn’t very good at drafting.
Last night, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo took part in the NBA All-Star game draft. The two had been chosen as captains and had to make some hard decisions in regards to who they wanted on their squads. Just like last year, Giannis was exposed as a pretty awful general manager. LeBron ended up with the better team and ended up with all of the Western Conference starters on his team. He also picked up the likes of Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, and Russell Westbrook. You can see how the teams shaped up, below.
Team LeBron: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Doncic, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis
Team Giannis: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker, Trae Young, Khris Middleton, Bam Adebayo, Rudy Gobert, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Ingram, Donovan Mitchell
The NBA All-Star game will be taking place on Sunday, February 16th in Chicago. For now, it seems like Team LeBron has a clear advantage although it’s an All-Star match so anything can happen. Some guys don’t put in very much effort which means the game can be wide open. It also means we will be made privy to a whole lot of offense. We can’t wait.
