The NBA All-Star draft will have a new format, starting with the 2023 All-Star Game in Utah.
The team captains — the highest vote-getters from each conference — will select their teams in a draft. The captains can select any player, regardless of conference, as has been done since 2018.
Previously, TNT aired the draft show live, featuring the two captains.
Now, the league has added a new wrinkle.
The team captains, which likely will be LeBron James from the Western Conference and either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant from the Eastern Conference, will choose their teams live on the court at Vivint Arena just 30 minutes ahead of the All-Star Game tip-off.
Full details on how it will work aren’t available from the NBA yet, but it could be a playground-style draft, with all of the All-Stars on the court waiting for their names to be called, like when you would pick teams at recess in elementary school.
We have never been able to see players’ reactions to being drafted to a team in the All-Star Game yet.
The NBA All-Star Game tips off at 6 p.m. MST on Feb. 19 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.