James's hand-picked teams are 4-0 since the All-Star Game changed formats.
LeBron James sometimes gets knocked for his general manager tendencies as a player. But when James has been truly in charge of drafting a team, he's seen great success.
Since the All-Star game shifted from East vs. West to the draft format with captains in 2018, Team LeBron is 4-0. It appears James emerged with the superior roster once again this season and a memorable meme when Kevin Durant avoided drafting his former teammate James Harden.
Of course, there's not much to glean from the success of James' teams from season to season. The rosters are different each year, though James does have the winners of the last three MVPs on his team in Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Team Durant is at a disadvantage with Durant missing the game while recovering from a sprained MCL.
All of that said, how should you bet on the All-Star game?
Well, first, you need to know how the game works, which isn't something you can say about most other All-Star games, but the NBA changed the format a few seasons ago to honor the late, great Kobe Bryant. You can read more on that here, but essentially, the clock is turned off in the fourth quarter while teams strive for a target score: the leading team's cumulative score through three quarters plus 24 points, Bryant's second jersey number.
Now that you know how the game works, let's get into the roster breakdown, recent history of All-Star game outcomes and how you should bet on it.
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
Team Durant vs. Team LeBron
- Time: Sunday 8 p.m. ET | TNT
- Spread: Team Durant +5.5 (-118) | Team LeBron -5.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Team Durant (+180) | Team LeBron (-225)
- Total: Under 321 (-110) | Over 321 (-118)
Rosters
Team Durant:
76ers C Joel Embiid*
Grizzlies G Ja Morant*
Celtics F Jayson Tatum*
Hawks G Trae Young*
Warriors F Andrew Wiggins*
Suns G Devin Booker
Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns
Bulls G Zach LaVine
Spurs G Dejounte Murray
Bucks F Khris Middleton
Hornets G LaMelo Ball
Jazz C Rudy Gobert
Team LeBron:
Lakers F LeBron James*
Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo*
Warriors G Stephen Curry*
Bulls F DeMar DeRozan*
Nuggets C Nikola Jokic*
Mavericks F Luka Doncic
Cavaliers G Darius Garland
Suns G Chris Paul
Heat F Jimmy Butler
Jazz G Donovan Mitchell
Raptors G Fred VanVleet
Cavaliers C Jarrett Allen
* = starter
Recent All-Star Game History
Defense is not the hallmark of the league's showcase. That's evidenced by the ridiculous final scores that have become commonplace in the All-Star Game.
Last season, Team LeBron defeated team Durant 170-150 in Atlanta. Blowouts like this are not commonplace, though. The last time the differential was 20 or more points was 2016, when the West defeated the East 196-173. Seven of the last 10 games have been decided by 10 points or less.
And as you can see from some of these final scores, there's no reason to gawk at the over/under for this game, set at 321 points, about 100 points higher than what you can expect during an average NBA game.
Last season, Team LeBron was a four-point favorite over Team Durant and easily covered that spread.
Betting Picks
James has the superior team, an advantage exacerbated by Durant's absence from his team. Of course, Embiid is having a monster season and is the favorite to win MVP, but the three players with the best odds behind him—Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry—are all on Team LeBron. Luka Doncic is coming off the bench for Team Lebron after a week during which he scored 51, 45 and 49 points.
I also like the size advantage that Team LeBron has over Team Durant. Trae Young and Ja Morant are both starting for Durant's squad. Alongside 6-foot-2 Curry in the backcourt is 6-foot-6 DeMar DeRozan for LeBron's team. It just doesn't seem fair they have a frontcourt composed of James, Antetokounmpo and Jokic, three huge players with elite playmaking ability.
When it comes to exciting All-Star-worthy plays, Team Durant may have an edge. Young, Morant, Zach LaVine and LaMelo Ball all have styles for showcases like this.
When it comes down to talent, Team LeBron has the edge. But given the recent close history of these games and the format, I like Team LeBron on the moneyline at -225. I'm tempted to give the points, but there's naturally so much variability in a game like this. I'm going with the best team to win straight up, even if there's not as much juice in doing so.
BET: Team LeBron moneyline (-225)
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