2023 NBA All-Star Mock Draft: Team LeBron James vs. Team Giannis Antetokounmpo

The NBA has officially revealed its 24 players for the 2023 All-Star Game.

The rosters, on the other hand, are far from set for Team LeBron James and Team Antetokounmpo.

The big game is Sunday, with the draft being held immediately before it, live on TNT, but we're impatient and ready to do this thing now.

Here to give us an idea of what these teams may look like—or at least should look like—are B/R's Greg Swartz drafting for Team LeBron and Andy Bailey representing Team Giannis.

*In another new twist to the All-Star format, team captains will draft reserves ahead of starters on Sunday.

Hit the comments in the B/R app to let us know which roster you would take for the 2023 All-Star Game in Utah.

Editor's Note: Team LeBron owns the first starter pick, so Team Giannis will begin with the first reserve selection.

Damian Lillard not being a starter grants me quite a luxury. With per-game averages of 31.4 points, 7.3 assists, 4.2 threes and a 37.2 three-point percentage, he's having perhaps the best year of his career and has arguably been the best guard in the NBA this season.

And while the plan is to build a roster with an embarrassment of riches in outside shooting, Lillard helps as a driver, too.

He's taking nearly a quarter of his shots within three feet of the rim, and his field-goal percentage in that range is a career-high 67.8, per Basketball Reference.

The fact that he's doing all this in his age-32 campaign probably isn't getting enough attention.

Kudos to Andy for taking Damian Lillard with his first reserve pick, as he would have been my selection as well. Still, getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a nice consolation prize considering he's a top-five scorer this season.

No guard gets into the paint as much as Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 24.2 drives per game lead the NBA, per the league's website. Team LeBron is definitely not settling for jumpers in this All-Star game.

At 6'6", Gilgeous-Alexander gives my squad size and scoring ability, as the 24-year-old's 30.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game have easily earned him a trip to the big game.

The Team Giannis roster will eventually be made up of both primary and secondary scorers. That might scare some drafters off of Tyrese Haliburton, but not this one.

I'm betting on unselfishness, and Haliburton has a wealth of it.

He's tied for third with Jokić in assists per game (behind James Harden and Trae Young), but he's not a particularly ball-dominant creator. He's second in the league in touches per game, but only tied for seventh in time of possession, per NBA.com.

That and a career 40.7 three-point percentage suggest he should be comfortable spending a little more time off the ball in this context.

After going guard with my first reserve pick, I wanted to add some more size to Team LeBron.

The NBA's leading rebounder this season, Sabonis has been a huge part of leading the Sacramento Kings to the No. 3 seed in the West. The only players to meet or exceed Sabonis' 18.8 points, 12.3 boards and 6.9 assists in NBA history are Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Nikola Jokic.

We're already picturing Sabonis operating from the elbows, executing dribble-handoffs to guys like LeBron James and our high-volume scorers.

This offense just got even more creative.

There's a serious temptation to inject this team with raw energy and entertainment from Anthony Edwards, but Paul George feels like the safer pick.

He fits the mold of this roster a little better, with his experience as a floor spacer and secondary playmaker.

Since he joined the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the 2019-20 season, George has averaged 23.0 points, 4.9 assists and 3.1 threes, while shooting 39.4 percent from deep.

And his defense only adds to the dynamism and switchability of the roster.

Anthony Edwards, an All-Star already at age 21, gets his first taste of the game while under the guidance of LeBron James, whose 19 appearances are now tied for most all-time.

Combine Edwards' raw talent and James' coaching and this could equal a monster debut for the Wolves' shooting guard.

Edwards is averaging an efficient 28.8 points per game over his last 14 contests, continuing to carry the offensive load for a Minnesota team still missing Karl-Anthony Towns and having now traded D'Angelo Russell away.

While he's not in the actual dunk contest, we're hoping Edwards will use this game as a trial to hopefully participate in 2024.

The guards I've taken so far (Lillard and Haliburton) are undoubtedly offense first (and in a couple cases, second, last and always). Team LeBron needs a perimeter stopper.

Even in his age-32 season, no one fills that role quite as effectively as Jrue Holiday.

Since he joined the Bucks, Jrue has averaged 1.5 steals, and the team has allowed 110.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor (compared to 113.0 when he's off), per PBP Stats.

Oh, and this pick has the added benefit of Jrue being teammates with Giannis. There's plenty of built-in chemistry there.

We've mainly prioritized offense given that not much defense is actually played in this game. But perhaps adding an elite post defender like Bam Adebayo is the right move now.

Adebayo is Miami's lone representative, which is fair since he's surpassed Jimmy Butler as the Heat's best overall player. Able to lock guys down from all areas of the floor, he's also one of the NBA's best rebounders and passers among big men.

Adebayo's not going to score a lot in this game, but he won't need to as a do-it-all big who will help the rest of the roster shine.

With Jaren Jackson Jr. still on the board, it'll be another defensive-minded pick for Team Giannis.

JJJ leads the NBA in defensive estimated plus-minus (one of basketball's most trusted catch-all metrics), per Dunks & Threes, is averaging 1.1 steals and is blocking 3.3 shots per game (27 percent more than second-place Nic Claxton).

He's become one of the game's best and most dangerous defensive anchors, but that's not the only side of the floor on which he helps.

Jackson is also averaging 1.6 threes with a just-below-average three-point percentage that's good enough to force opposing bigs to leave the paint in respect of his range.

Getting at least one more 6'6"-ish guy off the bench to fit between a plethora of talented guards and bigs was a priority here.

Rumor has it Jaylen Brown and fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum have some pretty decent chemistry together, so we'll be sure to target Tatum in the starting lineup if we get the chance.

With career-highs of 26.5 points and 7.0 rebounds this season, Brown is a deserving All-Star once again, one who's helped lead the Celtics to a 42-17 start.

Pascal Siakam doesn't really check the shooting box the way most the rest of this roster will, but he fits its mold in other ways.

He's 6'9" with a 7'3" wingspan and has developed into an excellent playmaker relative to other forwards.

Over the last four seasons, his 23.0 points per game have generated most of the attention that's gone his way, but his assist averages from those campaigns are a steadily progressing 3.5, 4.5, 5.3 and 6.1. That 2022-23 mark trails only Fred VanVleet among Raptors.

This squad has an abundance (and variety) of passers, and Siakam gives it another drive-and-kick weapon.

In the spirit of targeting talented teammates, let's add De'Aaron Fox to a bench that already features Domantas Sabonis.

Sacramento Kings lineups that contain both Fox and Sabonis have an offensive rating of 123.0 this season, ranking in the 97th percentile overall, per Cleaning the Glass. Fox joins Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an attacking guard who will make life miserable for Team Giannis to try to keep out of the paint.

Fox has been knocking on the door of All-Star status for years now, with Sacramento's success as a team finally matching his personal production. His selection is well deserved.

It's probably fine to have one mold-breaker with the final reserve pick, and DeMar DeRozan is the kind of talent worth breaking a mold for.

DeRozan's insistence on avoiding the three and doing the bulk of his damage from two-point range is almost admirable. He knows what he's good at and how to generate those shots.

And with the kind of lineups this roster can surround him with, lack of three-point range is probably fine.

Like others on Team Giannis, DeRozan's proved a worthy playmaker, too. This season, he's at 5.1 assists per game.

Julius Randle joins Team LeBron by default as the last reserve available, but we're certainly not complaining. He's one of just four players (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid) to average at least 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists this season.

In what's become a loaded East, Randle's play has been a major reason for the New York Knicks' place in the top six for much of the year. He'll assist us here by doing much of the same; bullying opponents inside, crashing the glass and finding the open guy with his timely passes.

Joining a big-man rotation that features Domantas Sabonis, Bam Adebayo and more to come, all of Team LeBron's bigs can rebound and pass with the best in the league.

We're starting Team LeBron's first unit with a jumbo playmaker capable of taking over the scoring load or getting the rest of his superstar teammates involved.

The NBA's leading scorer at 33.3 points per game this season, Luka Dončić is more than deserving of being the first starter taken (and true No. 1 overall pick). He's quickly cementing himself as one of the top talents in the league and should be an All-Starter starter for the next decade-plus.

Only one other player was considered here, but I knew Andy would be upset with me if I took him. Plus, selecting a guy who's admitted he doesn't know what to do in an All-Star game and that it's harder for him than a regular-season contest is a bit alarming.

I'll stick with Luka and LeBron.

I'll gladly take the best basketball player in the world and pair him with the second best player, giving me one of the most fearsome theoretical duos you could pluck from NBA history.

Nikola Jokić has won the last two MVP awards and has the inside track on a third straight. The player picking him won the two before that. And the games of Jokić and Giannis actually complement each other quite well.

Nobody is better at creating openings and hitting cutters from the middle of the floor, and Giannis has the physical traits to be the game's most dominant cutter. Jokić also has the touch from three or the mid-range to stay out of the paint and be an outlet for Giannis' drives.

Joel Embiid is probably the next-best player available, but I took a risk and bet Andy would pass on the league's second-leading scorer since he already took a center in Jokić.

Because of this, I went with Jayson Tatum, the best player on the best team in the NBA.

I'm building my squad with wings, and Tatum gives Team LeBron its second player in two picks to be putting up over 30 a game this season (third if you include LeBron). The 24-year-old is also averaging career highs with 8.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists a night, making his fourth All-Star trip already in his first six seasons.

Now with a trio of 6'7"-to-6'9" wings, it's time to find a point guard and center to complete my starting five.

With plenty of size in the captain and first pick, it's only natural to go with a guard here, and Donovan Mitchell is an easy fit alongside the sure-to-be-devastating two-man game of Jokić and Giannis.

On the season, Mitchell is averaging 27.3 points and 3.6 threes per game while shooting 38.7 percent from deep. That kind of volume shooting will force Team LeBron's defense to stay home on the outside when either of the bigs are operating in the paint.

And in 2022-23, after spending the last few years seemingly taking breaks on the defensive end, he's locked in there, too. Building a high-end defense around Jokić requires length and aggression at the other positions, and Giannis and Mitchell (who has a 6'10" wingspan) bring that.

I figured Andy wouldn't want to put Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid next to each other, as intriguing of a fit as that would be. Landing someone of his caliber this late is a steal.

Embiid is now my fourth 30-plus point-per-game scorer in the starting lineup, which has to be some sort of All-Star Game record, right? He's the most physically dominant big man in the NBA today and is on pace to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only players in history to average at least 33 points, 10 rebounds and four assists over the course of a season.

Embiid's 36 points in last season's All-Star game were second only to MVP Steph Curry. With Curry now out of the game because of a leg injury, this could be Embiid's time to shine.

Greg snagging Joel Embiid is fine. He's arguably been the best player in the Eastern Conference this season, but he wouldn't have been a great fit with Jokić and Giannis.

With him off the board, Kyrie Irving makes a ton of sense as another dominant scorer in the backcourt who has plenty of experience playing off the ball.

Kyrie spent a big chunk of his career playing with LeBron and Kevin Durant, so he should have no problem attacking the opposition's third- or fourth-best defender. And with another volume jump shooter (Kyrie has averaged 3.4 made threes and shot 39.4 percent from deep over the last two seasons), it will be even tougher to send any help to Giannis or Jokić.

No offense to Lauri Markkanen, who is having an All-Star season, but taking Ja Morant to round out my starting five was the easy pick here.

Since my roster already features two of the best playmakers in the NBA with Luka Dončić and LeBron James, Morant can focus on his scoring for this contest. This should be a terrifying proposition for Team Giannis to try to defend, as no guard has scored more than Morant in the restricted area this season.

With some of the best offensive players in the league at all five positions, Team LeBron is going to be electrifying.

The trend continues with Lauri Markkanen, and this squad now has four of the best shooters in the world to surround Giannis.

Markkanen, Irving and Mitchell are three of just 12 players averaging at least three threes and shooting a league-average (or better) percentage from deep. And Jokić is shooting a league-best 60.1 percent on twos from five feet and out, per NBA.com.

But Markkanen, of course, isn't just a three-point shooter. He's also 14th in the league in dunks, and has become far more dangerous off the dribble than anyone could've imagined as recently as a year ago.

He's not a lockdown defender, but his length helps on that end. And in combination with Giannis (7'3" wingspan) and Jokić (ditto), this starting five has a swarming defense, even with Kyrie there.

Team LeBron

Starters: LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Ja Morant

Reserves: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Domantas Sabonis, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Jaylen Brown, De'Aaron Fox, Julius Randle

Andy did a terrific job drafting Team Giannis, but just like the real-life version, my Team LeBron just doesn't lose All-Star games.

We'll make it a perfect 6-0 this year with this roster, one that features most of the NBA's top scorers mixed with oversized playmakers and attacking guards.

LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Domantas Sabonis will be zipping passes all over the court, Ja Morant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards should have a field day with our wide-open driving lanes and Joel Embiid can continue to terrorize Nikola Jokić 1-on-1.

This is a perfectly-balanced roster, one that mixes All-Star veterans with some talented first-timers.

Another year, another All-Star game victory for Team LeBron.

—Greg Swartz

Team Giannis

Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Donovan Mitchell, Kyrie Irving and Lauri Markkanen

Reserves: Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, Paul George, Jrue Holiday, Jaren Jackson Jr., Pascal Siakam and DeMar DeRozan

You've read it throughout the slideshow, but Team Giannis is absolutely loaded with shooting, playmaking, length and defensive versatility.

Just about any combination of five players from this roster will more than check those boxes.

And even if some of them have stretches in which they give up a lot of buckets (which will happen, because let's face, Team LeBron is stacked too), they have the luxury of trading threes for twos.

Giannis, if you need a general manager to make the picks for you on Sunday, let me know.

—Andy Bailey