All-Stars: Curry and James will be teammates.
Stephen Curry was drafted by LeBron James for Sunday’s AllStar Game, setting up the potential for fun passing between the rivals who faced off in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to ’18.
Selected in fan voting, James captained the Western Conference and Kevin Durant the Eastern Conference in drafting players from the AllStar pool during a recording that was turned into a primetime event Thursday night.
Curry was picked No. 3 overall after James took Giannis Antetokounmpo first, and Durant followed by grabbing Nets teammate Kyrie Irving.
Curry, James and Antetokounmpo will be joined in one starting lineup by Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Durant, who will miss the game with a hamstring injury, will have a starting five of Irving, Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, and Joel Embiid.
Rounding out the reserves for the JamesCurry roster: Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, Chris Paul, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, Domantas Sabonis and Rudy Gobert. The rest of Durant’s lineup includes James Harden, Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle, Nikola Vucevic and Donovan Mitchell.
The selection of Curry at No. 3 made sense as he’s a favorite to win the game’s MVP. He trails only James (5to1) and Doncic (15to2) in odds to win it at 8to1, according to BetOnline.
Curry will make his seventh AllStar Game appearance (all starts), matching Rick Barry’s franchise record for AllStar starts. He trails Paul Arizin (10 appearances) and Barry (eight) for most selections in Warriors history.
After making six consecutive AllStar starts from 2014 to 2019, Curry is averaging 29.7 points, 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals this season, his most impactful output since being the league’s unanimous MVP in 201516.
Curry didn’t travel with the Warriors to Thursday’s game in Phoenix, giving him an actual break during the AllStar “break.” Because of the pandemic, players involved in the AllStar Game at Atlanta have to undergo a twoday coronavirus protocol and stay in the league hotel Saturday and Sunday.