One year after Steph Curry took him first in All-Star draft, Giannis Antetokounmpo plans to return favor
An All-Star captain for the first time in his young career, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo seems to already know who his top pick will be in this year’s All-Star draft: his captain from last year.
Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Monday that he will likely take Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry first on Feb. 7, returning the favor of Curry picking the Greek Freak first in last year’s draft.
Asked about the all-star draft, Giannis said he will probably take Steph Curry first if he can since Curry took him first last year. Wants to repay him in kind.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) February 5, 2019
Even ignoring the favor, Curry is a fine choice for a first pick. The sharpshooter is averaging the most 3-point attempts of his career this season and making them at a 45.1 percent pace, roughly putting up the numbers that won him the unanimous MVP in the 2015-16 season.
In five career All-Star games played, Curry has averaged 17.0 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Per ESPN, Antetokounmpo has a strategy for his subsequent picks as well. High up on the wish list is Bucks teammate Khris Middleton, as you might expect. Outside of that, the 24-year-old says he plans to stock his team with younger players to “make a team that is going to play hard.” Given the competitiveness of All-Star games past, we’re not going to hold our breath on that one.
Intrigue about LeBron’s first All-Star pick remains
While Antetokounmpo’s first pick is likely settled, it was never really the pick people were buzzing over in the first place. The bigger story was always going to be who James takes with the first overall pick, because the sort of drama surrounding James’ quest to attract stars to Los Angeles and his relationships with past teammates is basically the reason All-Star drafts are fun in the first place.
James could draft Anthony Davis first and renew all of the whispers surrounding Davis’ trade request from the New Orleans Pelicans and his perceived preference to land with the Lakers. He could take Kyrie Irving to show everyone the two have indeed buried the hatchet. He could draft any of the players that the Lakers might target in free agency next offseason, like Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler or Kevin Durant.
Or, if he just wants to get under his opponents’ skin, he could take Curry. Nothing is off limits.
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