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Future Hall of Famers Kevin Durant and LeBron James faced off for the first time in the 2021 NBA All-Star Draft on Thursday night. Ever since the idea was introduced three years ago the All-Star Draft has become one of the most entertaining events of the year. Friday proved to be no different.
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KD Trolls Kendrick Perkins
During the draft on Friday, Durant had some interesting words about his former teammate Kendrick Perkins when it came time for him to make his sixth selection in the draft which was Orlando Magic star Nikola Vucevic.
“I’m going with Vucevic. Kendrick Perkins can’t say his name right, but I got it right,” Durant said.
Kendrick Perkins caught wind of KD’s troll job and immediately responded.
“I know you be watching me,” Perkins said via his Twitter account.
No Love for the Utah Jazz
The 2021 NBA All-Star Draft was filled with a bunch of memorable moments, most notably the fact that Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were the last two players left on the board at the end of the draft, despite Utah having the best record in the NBA.
The Inside the NBA crew asked LeBron about his decision to not pick the Jazz stars until last and his answer was hilarious.
“No slander to the Utah Jazz, but you guys got to understand just like in video games growing up we never played with Utah. Even as great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would have never would have picked those guys in video games, never,” James told the Inside the NBA crew.
Inside the NBA panelist Charles Barkley also chimed in on LeBron’s decision to not pick one of the Utah stars until the later rounds especially when LeBron claimed that his team needed size.
“LeBron says I really need some size and he’s got 7’5 Rudy Gobert and he goes with 6’2 Sabonis. Are you kidding me? Rudy Gobert is 7’5 and he picks the 6’2 guy.”
LeBron and KD Put on a Show
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Durant picked his Brooklyn Nets teammate Kyrie Irving with his first pick. On the season Irving is averaging 27.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists.
LeBron was the leading vote-getter for the 2021 All-Star game as he received 5.9 million votes to KD’s 5.4 million. As a reward for receiving the most votes, LeBron received the first overall pick.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP picked his opponent for last year’s All-Star draft, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. On the season Giannis is still putting up ridiculous numbers as he Is averaging 29.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists.
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It has been a long and extremely grueling process, but we are finally here with an All-Star Weekend to look forward to. Things may look a lot differently than they did during last year’s All-Star weekend but if this past year has taught us anything, it is how to make adjustments on the fly.
KD might have drafted his team but he will not participate in this year’s All-Star Weekend events as he is still recovering from a left hamstring injury. Celtics star Jayson Tatum will start in place of the injured Durant.
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