LeBron And The TNT Crew Couldn’t Stop Laughing As James Harden Got Picked Last In The NBA All-Star Draft

The 2022 NBA All-Star Draft took place on Thursday and for the first time since they started doing this format, there was some serious drama caused by it happening on the same day as the trade deadline. James Harden pushed his way out of Brooklyn and into a trade to the 76ers for Ben Simmons, as the deal got reported as done at 1:30 p.m. ET.

About an hour after that, LeBron James and Harden’s now-former teammate Kevin Durant drafted their All-Star teams, with Harden sitting out there as a reserve option. As the draft wore on, it became increasingly clear that LeBron was taking advantage of the fact that KD was never going to take Harden, continually taking others in front of him, and when it got down to the final two picks, the entire TNT crew and LeBron broke out in laughter as KD talked his way through selecting Rudy Gobert over Harden.

It’s honestly the best moment in NBA All-Star Draft history, which has only been televised four times but has become increasingly funny as the Inside the NBA crew egg them into some spiciness — last year featured LeBron and KD poking fun at the Utah Jazz when they left Gobert and Mitchell for the last two picks. This year was so much better, as KD tried his best to play it straight while LeBron had a huge grin on his face as he knew he was pushing all the right buttons to create some incredible content.

The best part is LeBron pointing out that Harden’s missed time with a hamstring and wondering if he’s going to even play, with Barkley then interjecting that he’s healthy now that he got traded, which finally got KD to break and laugh about the whole thing. LeBron then poked further when KD tried to trade for Darius Garland and he refused to deal the Cavs’ star guard.

It is television gold and we might not see anything quite like it again, and LeBron and KD really are the perfect two to deal with it all.