LeBron clowns Durant for Harden trade at 2022 NBA All-Star Draft
By Jack Simone
The NBA trade deadline stole the show on Thursday, but it wasnât the only event that the league had going on. Later in the night, the 2022 NBA All-Star Draft took place.
LeBron James is the captain of the Western Conference, and even though he wonât be participating in the weekendâs festivities, Kevin Durant is the captain of the Eastern Conference.
The night was fun, with the draft running fairly smoothly. The full rosters can be found below:
But the actual draft isnât what stole the show. Instead, it was the constant flow of subtle jabs being taken at Kevin Durant and James Harden throughout the event.
Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers at the deadline by the Brooklyn Nets, leaving Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving behind in New York to fend for themselves (alongside Ben Simmons).
LeBron clowns Durant for Harden trade at 2022 NBA All-Star Draft
Charles Barkley spearheaded the joke as multiple players continued to fall off the board. He egged on LeBron James, who continuously left Harden on the board so Durant would be forced to either pick him or leave him up as well.
One could probably guess what happened.
In the end, Durant chose Rudy Gobert over Harden, making him the final selection in the draft. The moment was pure comedy as James hid his face behind his clipboard, laughing at the interaction.
At one point during the show, Durant stated that âeveryone got what they wantedâ in the Harden trade, and that heâs looking forward to competing for the playoffs with the new guys on the squad moving forward.
However, that wasnât the end of the hilarity for the night. When the draft concluded, Durant asked James about a potential trade. He wanted to add Darius Garland to his All-Star squad.
LeBronâs reply? â âYou not done making trades for the day?â
It was the perfect way to wrap up an insanely funny draft segment that ended up just being LeBron and the TNT crew harassing Durant about the Harden trade.
Make sure to go check out the full segment if you havenât already. The NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, February 20.