NBA changes format for All-Star Draft, picking reserve players first

The "last pick" of Sunday night's All-Star Draft will be a starter.

The NBA has changed the format of Sunday's draft, and LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo — the captains — will make their picks from the pool of reserve players first.

They'll then choose their starting lineups, from the pool of eight other starters. The switch will ensure that no player will have to deal with the stigma of being picked last, even though that hasn't been too much of an issue in the past.

The 2018 draft was not shown publicly. The 2019 draft had Bradley Beal as the last pick among reserves, not including Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki — who were added to the game by Commissioner Adam Silver to commemorate their final seasons. (Nowitzki wound up being the last pick.)

In 2020, Domantas Sabonis, then of Indiana, was the last pick. In 2021, Rudy Gobert, then of Utah, was the last reserve left on the board. And last year, the final pick was James Harden — after Kevin Durant took Gobert, and didn't choose his former Brooklyn teammate in a comical scene.

Team Dwyane rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Team Ryan 81-78 in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night. Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and Basketball Hall of Fame finalist Dwyane Wade served as honorary captains of the celebrity teams.

Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf paced Team Dwyane with 20 points and 10 rebounds — but he'll be best remembered for an array of dunks. Actor Everett Osbourne led Team Ryan with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Metcalf was named the game's MVP.

DK METCALF IS TAKING OVER THE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RufflesCelebGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RufflesCelebGame</a>