NBA All-Star Game 2018: Early Mock Draft for Team LeBron vs. Team Stephen

The 2018 NBA All-Stars have officially been determined. But for the first time ever, the rosters are not.

LeBron James and Stephen Curry will do that at some point over the next 48 hours before the reveal of their full rosters Thursday night on TNT. The two leading vote-getters in their respective conferences are captains in the new All-Star format, which has them pick the remaining 22 All-Stars playground-style.

The only rules are they must select the eight starters with their first four picks. After that, it's a free-for-all that will allow us to see how James and Curry would like to build their own fantasy rosters.

Unfortunately, we will not get to see any of it. The league decided to not air the draft, which means we'll ever know the true order of how things went down unless it's leaked. 

Fortunately, that allows us time for wild and baseless speculation. So here's a look at a mock draft of how things could go down before Thursday's reveal. 

The Starters 

1. Team LeBron: Kevin Durant, SF, Golden State Warriors

On a night-to-night basis, Durant has been the best player in basketball this season. He's perhaps the most effortless scorer the NBA has ever seen, and playing in Golden State has allowed him to more consistently put forth a concentrated effort on defense.

Durant's the MVP favorite and is a no-brainer for the top pick here. LeBron's going to get to play with KD in a non-Olympic environment. Either way, no other player will or should go No. 1.

2. Team Stephen: Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF, Milwaukee Bucks

This comes down to Antetokounmpo, Davis and Harden. The choice here isn't necessarily about the best player—that should be Harden. Nor is it about the most potentially dominant player—that would be Davis.

If Curry and James are drafting based on who would be the most fun to play with—a fair assumption—Antetokounmpo is the pick. Languishing on yet another mediocre team in Milwaukee, Giannis is a dream teammate for a Curry or LeBron. They'll never play with the Greek Freak on the international level and likely won't get a chance outside of All-Star Games.

Curry pulling the trigger here would allow them to play together for perhaps the only time. 

3. Team LeBron: James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

If LeBron is leaving Cleveland this summer, the only destination that makes basketball sense is Houston. The Rockets have one of his best friends (Chris Paul), an MVP candidate (Harden), a great coach (Mike D'Antoni), a respected general manager (Daryl Morey) and an infrastructure of other pieces that may allow them to even add a fourth star.

I'm giving the nod to Harden over Davis here just to add to the conspiracy theory. James gets a chance to play with Harden, and LeBron-Durant-Harden is arguably the top three in MVP voting in some order at this point. 

4. Team Stephen: Anthony Davis, PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans

The last of the clear top four in this class, Davis remains on the cusp of basketball dominance while wasting another prime season in New Orleans. He's averaging 26.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while stretching himself more consistently beyond the three-point line and acting as one of the league's best rim protectors.

It's hard to believe he doesn't turn 25 until March. Davis has the potential to go off for video game-like stats on a nightly basis, as evidenced by his 93-point, 33-rebound outburst over a two-game stretch against the Knicks and Celtics earlier this month. 

5. Team LeBron: Kyrie Irving, PG, Boston Celtics

Hehehe.

6. Team Stephen: Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers

Continuing with the fun theme, there is no more entertaining player in the league right now than Embiid. Finally healthy after playing 31 total games in his first three NBA seasons, the Process is completely paying off. The Sixers play like a potential conference finalist when Embiid is on the floor and flounder when he sits; he's a two-way fulcrum who can do everything, even if his decision-making sometimes borders on boneheaded.

Hanging out with Embiid in the All-Star locker room alone would be worth taking him higher than this spot.

7. Team LeBron: DeMarcus Cousins, C, New Orleans Pelicans 

James doesn't have any natural centers on his roster at this point. Cousins is the only big remaining among the starters. There doesn't seem to be much left to discuss here.

A Boogie vs. AD matchup could be fun to watch down low. 

8. Team Stephen: DeMar DeRozan, SG, Toronto Raptors

DeRozan is the last player left. And Curry needs a starting 2. Funny how that worked out. 

Final Starting Lineups

Team LeBron

BC: Kyrie Irving

BC: James Harden

FC: Kevin Durant

FC: LeBron James

FC: DeMarcus Cousins

Team Stephen

BC: Stephen Curry

BC: DeMar DeRozan

FC: Giannis Antetokounmpo 

FC: Anthony Davis

FC: Joel Embiid

The Reserves

9. Team Stephen: Draymond Green, PF, Golden State Warriors

10. Team LeBron: Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder

11. Team Stephen: Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors 

12. Team LeBron: Jimmy Butler, SG, Minnesota Timberwolves

13. Team Stephen: Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Minnesota Timberwolves

14. Team LeBron: Victor Oladipo, SG, Indiana Pacers

15. Team Stephen: Al Horford, C, Boston Celtics

16. Team LeBron: Kristaps Porzingis, PF, New York Knicks

17. Team Stephen: Bradley Beal, SG, Washington Wizards

18. Team LeBron: Kyle Lowry, PG, Toronto Raptors

19. Team Stephen: Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

20. Team LeBron: LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, San Antonio Spurs

21. Team Stephen: John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards

22. Team LeBron: Kevin Love, PF, Cleveland Cavaliers

Let's paint a scene. A conference call. Steph Curry. LeBron James. Adam Silver. The three men get done doing the easy part, chopping up the starters and filling out their lineups.

Now comes the awkward part. Curry, wanting to avoid any tension in his locker room, asks James if he minds if he takes Draymond Green and Klay Thompson to keep as much of his team together as possible. James accepts. 

Curry, in exchange, offers to give Kevin Love to LeBron as a freebie. Dead silence. After about 30 seconds, Silver and Curry begin to think James dropped the call. But he's still there. Contemplating. After what seems like an eternity, he takes a deep breath and goes, "Nah, give me Westbrook and Jimmy Butler."

And so it goes down the line, with Curry time and again avoiding to take Love in deference to James while LeBron is side-eyeing the phone. Just hoping Curry takes the decision off his hands.

They get down to the final pick, and James sighs, muttering out of the corner of his mouth says "IguessgivemeKevin." Silver and Curry ask him to repeat himself, and he does, finally selecting Love with his final pick.

The draft list comes out. Love is on James' team. Green and Thompson are on Curry's. The world is none the wiser. It looks like James has been the dutiful teammate, but the three men on that conference call know otherwise.

And this, my friends, is the petty drama we've been robbed of by the league not televising this draft.  

Final Projected Rosters

Team LeBron

BC: Kyrie Irving

BC: James Harden

FC: Kevin Durant

FC: LeBron James

FC: DeMarcus Cousins

Bench: Russell Westbrook

Bench: Jimmy Butler

Bench: Victor Oladipo

Bench: Kristaps Porzingis

Bench: Kyle Lowry

Bench: LaMarcus Aldridge

Bench: Kevin Love

Team Stephen

BC: Stephen Curry

BC: DeMar DeRozan

FC: Giannis Antetokounmpo 

FC: Anthony Davis

FC: Joel Embiid

Bench: Draymond Green

Bench: Klay Thompson

Bench: Karl-Anthony Towns

Bench: Al Horford

Bench: Bradley Beal

Bench: Damian Lillard

Bench: John Wall