Report: 1st round of NBA All-Star draft, 'Mr. Irrelevant' candidates revealed
With insight into the draft process - and some educated guessing - the order of the All-Star draft between captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry has apparently been revealed.
With the first pick, James taking Curry's teammate Kevin Durant was a no-brainer. It was pretty much all Durant could talk about Thursday - on social media and in a postgame interview. In fact, it was Durant's access to captain Curry and willingness to spill the beans which allowed The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II to fill in some of the draft order blanks.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected second overall, and Anthony Davis was selected third. After that, Thompson posits James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Joel Embiid were selected by Curry with his Nos. 4, 6, and 8 picks.
James rounded out the final two starting spots with former running mate Kyrie Irving and Davis' frontcourt partner DeMarcus Cousins, though it's unclear which player was selected No. 5 or No. 7. As Irving was the last point guard on the board when James was making the No. 5 pick, and Team James had yet to select a traditional backcourt player, it seems likely that Irving was selected before Cousins.
| Team James | Team Curry |
|---|---|
| 1. K. Durant | 2. G. Antetokounmpo |
| 3. A. Davis | 4. J. Harden |
| 5. K. Irving | 6. D. DeRozan |
| 7. D. Cousins | 8. J. Embiid |
As James had the first pick in the first segment of the draft, Curry had the top choice among reserves, and reportedly chose teammate Klay Thompson. James followed with Russell Westbrook.
After that, the likely draft order becomes murkier. Kevin Love was reportedly intentionally selected by James - which is to say, James was not obligated to take Love as the final player available. That means Love was selected no lower than No. 22.
For all the hand-wringing over whether the player selected last would be mocked as "Mr. Irrelevant" among the NBA's best players, one of LaMarcus Aldridge, Bradley Beal, Victor Oladipo, Kristaps Porzingis, or John Wall was indeed picked last. Though Team James had the final pick, that designation was actually determined by Curry's selection at No. 23, as Team James would have had no choice but to take the last remaining All-Star at No. 24.