For the first time since the new All-Star game format was introduced, team captains will be drafting their own team just moments before the game. LeBron James is once again one of the captains and has been doing so for 6 straight occasions. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo returns as the opposing captain, looking for revenge after losing to LeBron twice (2019 and 2020). LeBron and Giannis have already finalized their roster with both if them trying to win over the other. Take a look at Team LeBron and Team Giannis and let’s see who’s going to win the 2023 All-Star game.
TEAM LEBRON’S ROSTER
| STARTERS |
| LeBron James (Captain) |
| Joel Embiid |
| Kyrie Irving |
| Luka Doncic |
| Nikola Jokic |
| RESERVES |
| Anthony Edwards |
| Paul George |
| Jaylen Brown |
| Tyrese Haliburton |
| Julius Randle |
| De’Aaron Fox |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. |
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Last year, team LeBron gave their opponent, team Durant, a devastating loss. With a SUPER TEAM consisting of Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, DeMar DeRozan, and LeBron himself, they were slated to win the 2022 tournament.
This year, LBJ once again picks the best players from the All-Star pool. His first pick was the Philadelphia 76ers superstar center, Joel Embiid. The following options he made were even better as he landed Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic. Truly, he made another team that has similar fire power with the team he had last year.
TEAM GIANNIS’S ROSTER
| STARTERS |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (Captain) |
| Jayson Tatum |
| Ja Morant |
| Donovan Mitchell |
| Lauri Markannen |
| RESERVES |
| Damian Lillard |
| Jrue Holiday |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
| DeMar DeRozan |
| Pascal Siakam |
| Bam Adebayo |
| Domantas Sabonis |
Giannis Antetokounmpo returns as an All-Star captain in the 2022-2023 season. He’s got quite a nice team. He chose Boston Celtics’ forwars Jayson Tatum as his first pick in the draft. He then proceeded to select two of the most athletic guards in NBA, Mitchell and Morant. With his last pick, he took Lauri Markannen. This team already looks good, but in comparison to LeBron’s picks, they look like a slightly worse team.
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Who will come out on top? Team LeBron or Team Giannis?
For starters, LBJ hasn’t lost the All-Star game since it adapted a new format. He’s been winning ever since and it goes to show how big of a genius James is. The King could be the perfect player-GM, and this year is definitely not different.
As an NBA fan, at a glance, you’d already see that team LeBron’s starters are far better than team Giannis. LeBron picked three MVP candidates (Doncic, Jokic, and Embiid) as his first five. Meanwhile, aside from the Greek Freak, only Jayson Tatum is on team LeBron’s level. This means that LBJ’s roster hugely outweights Giannis’s team.
Team Giannis’ reserves, on the other hand, have a slight advantage. Since almost all of them has had some experience in the All-Star game, they’re not new to this. Compared to LeBron’s reserves which feature a list of first-timers like Fox, Haliburton, Jackson Jr., and Edwards, the other team are a bit stronger. That being said, if LeBron wins it again this year, it would probably be another close matchup.
The 2023 All-Star game will be held in Salt Lake City (Utah) on Sunday February 19, 2023. The game will be broadcasted live on TNT and TBS.
Who do you think will win this year’s All-Star game? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. For more content, stay with us, here at Spiel Times.
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