The NBA has tweaked its annual All-Star Game again. The 2023 edition in Salt Lake City will be the sixth to use the draft format in which two captains -- LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo in this case -- select players regardless of conference affiliation to fill out their All-Star rosters. But after five seasons of holding the draft weeks before the All-Star Game, the NBA moved the festivities to the day of the game, making it even more like the playground format the draft was meant to emulate.
Whether this results in more drama remains to be seen. This year's draft will feature the reserves being selected before the starters, another major change from the first five years, which produced some memorable moments. In 2019, Antetokounmpo playfully accused James of "tampering" when he drafted Anthony Davis, then still with the New Orleans Pelicans. Last year, Kevin Durant awkwardly refused to draft James Harden after his former Brooklyn Nets teammate had just been traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
To get you ready for the draft, which will take place right before Sunday's game (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT), we have ESPN writers making their own selections, with Kirk Goldsberry representing Team LeBron and Kevin Pelton representing Team Giannis.
RESERVES
1. Team Giannis (Pelton): Paul George, LA Clippers
I'll start off my bench by finding some size on the perimeter. The 6-foot-8 George will likely be part of my closing lineup if the game is close. He's not only a two-way standout but a proven All-Star performer who has averaged 20.1 points in just 25 minutes per game during his seven previous appearances.
2. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Not only does Lillard come into the weekend as the league's fourth-ranked scorer, but he had 32 points in his last All-Star game appearance in 2021. Oh, and he is perfect for this format for one simple reason: He's one of the best shooters. Last year's All-Star Game included an unbelievable 123 3-point attempts in 48 minutes -- that's 2.7 per minute, and a great reason to make sure you have players such as Lillard and Donovan Mitchell on your team.
3. Team Giannis (Pelton): Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Yeah, Lillard was next on my draft board, small backcourt or not. Now that you've taken him, I'm going with Haliburton, who seems like the most likely heir to Chris Paul's role of setting up teammates during a fun three quarters before getting down to the business of winning and losing with the game on the line.
4. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
The All-Star Game provides a unique opportunity for young, small-market stars to introduce themselves to one of the biggest audiences in the basketball world. Edwards is one of the most exciting 21-year-old talents the league has seen in years, but not many casual fans have gotten a chance to witness his showstopping dunks on national television. That should change on Sunday when Edwards makes his first ASG appearance.
5. Team Giannis (Pelton): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
With the shooting we're already accumulating on our second unit, there should be plenty of space for Gilgeous-Alexander to operate in his All-Star debut. And nobody does more with good spacing than SGA, whose 16.9 PPG on drives leads the league, according to Second Spectrum tracking on NBA Advanced Stats -- a full two points more than the next-closest contenders, Ja Morant and Luka Doncic, who also happen to be on my team.
6. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
These games are built for skilled stars who can run, shoot and dunk. Brown does all three of those things very well. He might be Boston's second fiddle, but his 22 points in the 2021 All-Star Game is more than teammate Jayson Tatum has recorded in this event.
7. Team Giannis (Pelton): Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
It's time to get some size off the bench and a versatile defender in case we need him to finish the game as part of a switching unit. Adebayo should benefit from the playmaking we're accumulating off the bench, getting the chance to play finisher after creating his own offense at a career-high rate this season in Miami.
8. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Fox was born to play in All-Star games. His blend of speed and skill are perfectly suited for the wide-open spaces the All-Star Game provides. He's having a career season and has led Sacramento to the third-best record in the Western Conference, but like Edwards, this game provides him with one of the biggest stages he has played on.
9. Team Giannis (Pelton): Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
Kirk, you continue pretty much going in order down my draft board. That leaves Holiday -- another option to finish the game because of his on-ball defense and ability to knock down 3s (39.5% in three seasons playing with Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee).
10. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
It turns out the Grizzlies' 23-year-old big man is so good at protecting the rim, that his stats have some people doubting their authenticity. Well folks, they are real and they are spectacular. Simply put, Jackson is the best interior defender in this game, and there won't be many dunks or lobs when he's patrolling the paint.
11. Team Giannis (Pelton): Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
I'm a little surprised Siakam has lasted this long, even as an injury replacement. (All three of those are now off the board before the three players originally chosen by coaches.) He can fit into a variety of lineups as either a small-ball center option or more of a perimeter threat. Siakam was productive in his lone previous All-Star appearance in 2020, putting up 15 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.
12. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls
The All-Star Game is not an ideal platform for a gritty midrange scorer who specializes in making contested jumpers in tight spaces. Still, DeRozan has managed to score in double digits in four of his previous five All-Star appearances. That makes him a steal at this point in the draft.
13. Team Giannis (Pelton): Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
We're left with a pair of lefty post players, both of whom are useful offensive hubs for their teams during the regular season -- particularly Sabonis, who is part of the NBA's second-best offense in Sacramento -- but don't quite translate to the All-Star setting. Sabonis had just four points and, perhaps more surprisingly, one assist in two previous All-Star Games. We'll hope for more production by pairing Sabonis with the player he was traded for a year ago, Haliburton.
14. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Julius Randle, New York Knicks
Hey, if Brock Purdy can make the NFC Championship Game, then Randle can go from being the last reserve selected to being a real factor in this game. After a down season last year, Randle is scoring nearly 25 PPG for the Knicks at a relatively efficient clip. The fact Randle, who made one other All-Star Game appearance in 2021, is the last pick -- assuming reserves are still picked after starters -- speaks to the depth of this draft, and how much talent there is in the NBA.
STARTERS
15. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Assuming he actually plays, which is under question, no player in this game is as motivated to dominate it than Embiid, who is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season yet wasn't even originally supposed to start this game. He is the best player on one of the league's hottest teams, and he has an uncanny ability to use big stages to prove his doubters wrong.
Just three weeks ago, he scored 47 points with 18 rebounds as he led Philadelphia to a statement win in a national broadcast matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. In last year's All-Star Game, Embiid poured in 36 points, which trailed only Stephen Curry (50) for the game high.
Simply put, he's got a chip on his shoulder and could use this game to remind the basketball world he is one of the league's best players.
16. Team Giannis (Pelton): Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
There will be no tampering with LeBron and Kyrie teaming up on my watch. Beyond that, Irving has been a consistently productive player in the All-Star Game. His 9.1 assists per game in seven contests rank third among All-Stars with more than two All-Star appearances, trailing Chris Paul and Magic Johnson. Irving was voted MVP of the 2014 game.
17. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Let's grab another MVP candidate with Team LeBron's second starter. Tatum is having a marvelous season, leading the defending Eastern Conference champs to the best record (42-17) in the NBA so far. Like Embiid, Tatum could use Sunday's game to make a statement. Last year, he scored eight points in the game. I expect that number to go way up in Utah.
18. Team Giannis (Pelton): Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Morant had a modest All-Star debut last year, scoring six points and handing out three assists in 18 minutes. Still, his explosive athleticism seems ideal for an All-Star setting. Morant is among the NBA's best at throwing and finishing lobs. No other player who has thrown at least 15 passes for alley-oop dunks (Morant has 55, second-most behind non-All-Star Trae Young) has been on the receiving end of more than four of them (Morant has seven).
19. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mitchell is yet another player who might go off Sunday. This will be a high-profile, emotional homecoming party for Cleveland's 26-year-old, who ranks ninth in the league in scoring and owns arguably this season's most incredible performance: his 71-point masterpiece against Chicago in January. When you look at his game, which is tailor-made for this exhibition, as well as this homecoming stage, I'm shocked Pelton let him slip this far. What's he going to do next? Take Lauri Markkanen even though Nikola Jokic is still on the board?
20. Team Giannis (Pelton): Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
Partially, selecting Markkanen over two leading MVP candidates (including the favorite, per the straw poll from ESPN's Tim Bontemps earlier this week) is a matter of getting the home crowd in Salt Lake City on my side. But it's also a commentary on their tendency not to take the All-Star Game particularly seriously. I'm expecting a more focused effort from Markkanen, making his first appearance as the Jazz's lone All-Star representative.
21. Team LeBron (Goldsberry): Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Markkanen over Jokic? Why not just take Sam Bowie? What planet are we on? Jokic is on pace to win his third straight MVP, which is staggering, but he has yet to really turn it on in the All-Star environment. He's never scored more than 10 points in his previous four appearances, but ultimately if you're trying to build the best possible team on planet Earth in 2023, Jokic has to be your starting center.
22. Team Giannis (Pelton): Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
As transcendent as Doncic often is on the court, that's rarely been the case in the past All-Star weekends. He has totaled just 24 points and 15 assists in 74 minutes during three All-Star appearances. So, shockingly, perhaps the league's top individual offensive talent is the last starter chosen. I can only hope the Salt Lake nightlife isn't as taxing this time around.