Giannis thinking of drafting Curry with 1st All-Star pick

Antetokounmpo is the captain of one team for the game as the top vote-getter among Eastern Conference players in fan balloting. LeBron James is the other captain and has the first pick when they draft from the pool of starters, because he received more votes.

From the starters pool, where James picks first, here are the players:

EAST: Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker
WEST: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Paul George, James Harden

From the reserve pool, Antetokounmpo picks first:

WEST: LaMarcus Aldridge, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Russell Westbrook
EAST: Bradley Beal, Blake Griffin, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, D’Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons, Nikola Vucevic

Lastly, James will pick between alternates Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. Antetokounmpo gets whomever’s left.

Antetokounmpo said he hasn’t made a list of who he wants when they make their selections Thursday, because James could get the player he wants first. The Milwaukee Bucks star did say Monday where he thinks he’ll start building his team.

“I might pick Steph because he picked me first last year so I’ve got to return the favor,” Antetokounmpo said after Milwaukee’s 113-94 victory over Brooklyn.

“And after that, I don’t know. I think it’s going to be random. But I want to try to pick first-year guys, first-year All-Star guys and of course Khris.”

Middleton, his Bucks teammate, was selected for his first All-Star Game.

Curry will be playing in his hometown during the Feb. 17 game in Charlotte, North Carolina.