Team Giannis vs Team Lebron in 72nd Annual All-Star Game

The NBA’s best are assembling in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 72nd Annual NBA All-Star Game. The game features a pick-up style draft right before tip-off.

All-Star Rosters

The leading vote getters in each conference, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, automatically suit up as captains and will have the ability to draft their own team ahead of Sunday’s game.

Since the original starters were announced, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Zion Williamson pulled out due to injury. Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen and Ja Morant were picked to replace them.

Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen and Ja Morant were named starters for the All-Star Game, the NBA announced.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson will not play due to injury. pic.twitter.com/hGIvLe07Ng

— ESPN (@espn) February 10, 2023

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Nikola Jokic, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum round out the remaining starters.

Making his 6th #NBAAllStar appearance… Joel Embiid of the @sixers.

Drafted as the 3rd pick in 2014 out of Kansas (originally from Cameroon), @JoelEmbiid is averaging 33.5 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 4.2 APG for the 76ers this season. pic.twitter.com/VvIGNvbvDW

— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 3, 2023

The reserves features a mix of familiar names and new ones. Most-improved player of the year candidate Tyrese Haliburton will make his first career all-star appearance

Making his 1st #NBAAllStar appearance… Tyrese Haliburton of the @Pacers.

Drafted as the 12th pick in 2020 out of Iowa State, @TyHaliburton22 is averaging 20.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 10.2 APG for the Pacers this season. pic.twitter.com/xRGKz5b7Qy

— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 3, 2023

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. are also first time all-stars.

Making his 1st #NBAAllStar appearance… Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the @okcthunder.

Drafted as the 11th pick in 2018 out of Kentucky (originally from Canada), @shaiglalex is averaging 30.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 5.6 APG for the Thunder this season. pic.twitter.com/CMjugXzsl1

— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 3, 2023

All-star game veterans include Damian Lillard, Paul George and DeMar DeRozan.

All-Star Draft

The NBA’s All-Star Game has followed several different formats over the past decade. With fan interest declining at the all-star game, the NBA has found creative ways to garner attention.

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will each draft a team from the players available. Starters received the most votes, so they will start the game no matter whose team they end up on.

After drafting starters, James and Antetokounmpo will fill out their respective rosters with the remaining reserves.

The updated player pool… who will end up on #TeamLeBron and #TeamGiannis? https://t.co/uO1duMJoDB

— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 10, 2023

Game Format

Each quarter represents an entire game within itself. For quarters 1-3, the score will start at 0-0 and the teams will play for the entire 12 minutes.  Then, the fourth quarter is played to a target score by adding up the cumulative score of the leading team through three quarters and adding 24 points.

Both team’s will play to the target score from their respective cumulative totals.

The 72nd annual NBA All-Star game will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. on TNT.