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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Mike McDaniel

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2023 All-Star Draft Moment Goes Viral After Trade

At 2023 NBA All-Star weekend this past February in Salt Lake City, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were chosen as the two team captains for the player draft.

Antetokounmpo had the first pick and many expected him to select his then Bucks teammate, point guard Jrue Holiday. Instead, Antetokounmpo surprised everyone in the building, including James, when he selected Portland star Damian Lillard.

“Giannis has changed this weekend,” James said jokingly at the time. “He always talks about loyalty, to being loyal, all that stuff, right? So I knew for sure his first pick was gonna be Jrue. So I don’t know what’s going on with Giannis, but OK, OK, messing my whole draft board up now.”

Here’s that moment:

That clip went viral after Lillard was traded to the Bucks on Wednesday, and NBA fans had a lot to say about it: 

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