Houston Chronicle

ALL-STAR TEAMS SELECTED: JAMES HARDEN IS THE LAST STARTER PICKED BY LEBRON JAMES.

- By Tim Reynolds

LeBron James finally has Anthony Davis as a teammate.

For one game.

His Los Angeles Lakers were unable to swing a deal for Davis, but James drafted the New Orleans Pelicans star on Thursday when he and fellow captain Giannis Antetokoun­mpo sat down to choose their teams for the Feb. 17 All-Star Game in Charlotte.

James Harden of the Rockets was the last starter picked by James, going seventh overall.

Davis told the Pelicans he wanted a trade, and James has made it clear that he’d love to play with him. But the Pelicans kept Davis as the trade deadline passed, so for now, their time as teammates will be limited to All-Star weekend and James pounced at the chance to grab him with the second pick of the reserve round.

“I’m very sure of that,” James said, when asked by TNT host Ernie Johnson if he was sure he wanted Davis as a teammate.

“Isn’t that tampering?” Antetokoun­mpo asked.

Responded James, as both players laughed: “Tampering rules do not apply on All-Star weekend,” a thinly veiled reference to the reaction James got when he listed Davis as one of many players he would like the chance to play with.

James chose Golden State’s Kevin Durant with the No. 1 overall pick, as he did last year in the All-Star draft, to be one of his starters. They’ll be joined in the Team LeBron starting five by Boston’s Kyrie Irving, Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard and Harden. Team Giannis, in addition to Antetokoun­mpo, will start Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Philadelph­ia’s Joel Embiid, Oklahoma City’s Paul George and Charlotte hometown favorite Kemba Walker.

Antetokoun­mpo said he took George for one reason: “He had a huge dunk on me,” Antetokoun­mpo said, referring to the slam by the Thunder star last month.

Antetokoun­mpo took his Milwaukee teammate Khris Middleton with the first pick in the reserve round, along with Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Philadelph­ia’s Ben Simmons, Detroit’s Blake Griffin, Brooklyn’s D’Angelo Russell, Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry. James took Davis, Golden State’s Klay Thompson, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Washington’s Bradley Beal.

James convinced Antetokoun­mpo to swap Westbrook for Simmons — and give the Bucks’ star the chance to have Westbrook and Embiid together. The NBA signed off on the trade.

Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki are the special additions. James took Wade.

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