James gets his guy Ben
LEBRON James has dropped an expletive on US TV after missing out on adding Ben Simmons to his All-Star team — but the NBA great managed to pull off a late trade to grab the young Australian.
“You took my choice!” James laughed during a televised All-Star selection show after opposing captain Giannis Antetokounmpo selected Simmons with his seventh pick.
James and Antetokounmpo, the top vote getters for the February 17 game in Charlotte, North Carolina, took turns selecting their teams from the pool of remaining 22 All-Stars.
Antetokounmpo selected Curry, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kemba Walker to start alongside him. James chose Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. James and Simmons are represented by the same management company and James has been a mentor to the Australian.
James, however, had a chance to grab Simmons (pictured above right) early but went with Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson with his first two non-starting picks. That’s when Antetokounmpo jumped in. “With my third pick I’m going to go with LeBron’s guy Ben Simmons,” Antetokounmpo said. “You took my guy,” laughed James, who had his expletive deleted. James convinced Antetokounmpo to a trade to get Simmons.