With the NBA deciding to hold this year’s All-Star draft prior to tipoff, the excitement surrounding the draft order was as palpable as it has ever been. And, apparently, the new format made East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo a little eager while making his first few selections.
Antetokounmpo and West captain LeBron James took center stage in Utah to pick their teams for the star-studded showcase. The superstars first made their reserve selections to get the ball rolling, with James drafting Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Brown and Antetokounmpo taking Damian Lillard and teammate Jrue Holiday off the board over the first four picks.
With the fifth pick, Antetokounmpo, with a black book full of notes by his side, sought to add another guard to his lineup. The only thing is, the seven-time All-Star’s selection was nowhere to be found amongst the remaining All-Star reserves sitting on stage.
“My third pick is going to be one of the most exciting, rising star, superstar in the league right now: Ja Morant,” Antetokounmpo proclaimed, not realizing the Grizzlies star and two-time All-Star was backstage with the rest of their fellow starters.
As a player who’s known for being a jokester as much as anyone else in the NBA, Antetokounmpo played off his hilarious blunder as smooth as possible. Still, viewers couldn’t help but feel at least a little second-hand embarrassment for the 28-year-old after many of the players seated behind him burst into laughter.
Fortunately for Antetokounmpo, when it came time to select the starting lineups, the opportunity quickly arose for him to get his guy and select Morant. Sure, it might’ve seemed a little less dramatic at that point but, hey, all’s well that ends well, right?
