Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Wade, James teammates again in All-Star Game
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are teammates again — at least for one night.
As expected, James, in drafting his team for the Feb. 17 NBA All-Star Game, selected his former Miami Heat teammate Thursday for his 13-player roster.
After James and opposing All-Star captain Giannis Antetokounmpo selected from the eight other All-Star starters in the first round and the 14 All-Star reserves in the second round of the televised process, James then had the first choice in the third round of the two players added by Commissioner Adam Silver in honor of closing of their careers.
“Everyone in the world knows who I’m going with,” LeBron said during the process. “I’m going with and I select . . . Dirk . . . “He then paused for effect.
“I’m going with my buddy Dwyane Wade.”
That had James selecting his former teammate for four runs to the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat from 2011 to 2014, with championships in 2012 and ’13. Antetokounmpo then selected Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki to complete the draft.
The byplay between James and Antetokounmpo continued after the draft, when
“I’m going with my buddy Dwyane Wade.”
— LeBron James
James proposed trading his selection of Russell Westbrook for Antetokounmpo’s selection of Ben Simmons, who has been mentored over the years by James.
Antetokounmpo then quipped, “What if he puts Dwyane Wade in the trade?”
That brought laughter from James, who instead got his wish of the straightup Westbrook-Simmons trade.
Teammates of Wade’s at the All-Star Game on Team LeBron will be Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden as the starters alongside James, with the reserve unit of Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bradley Beal and Simmons.
Team Giannis will feature Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kemba Walker as starters, with a reserve unit of Khris Middleton, Nikola Jokic, Blake Griffin, D’Angelo Russell, Nikola Vucevic, Kyle Lowry and Westbrook.
The Golden State Warriors’ Durant was selected by James with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA AllStar draft. Warriors’ teammate Curry was drafted by Antetokounmpo with the No. 2 overall pick.
Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate, choosing a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced. Silver’s selection would join the team that drafted the replaced player. If a replaced player is a starter, the coach of that team would choose a replacement starter. Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone will lead Team LeBron and Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer will guide Team Giannis.
With Antetokounmpo representing the Eastern Conference in an Eastern Conference arena, his team has been designated the home team and was able to choose between wearing black or white uniforms. Team Giannis selected the white uniforms. Team LeBron was assigned the black uniforms as the visiting team, which will be Wade’s final All-Star uniform as he completes his 16th and final season.