His reasoning is pretty hilarious, too.
The NBA is finishing up All-Star weekend on Sunday night with the 72nd All-Star game, and the first in Salt Lake City since 1993. This year, though, the NBA is doing things a little bit differently.
In 2018, the NBA shifted to an All-Star draft format, and it’s been a huge success. This year, however, rather than doing the draft well in advance, the league is holding it right before the game.
LeBron James, the leading vote-getter from the West will be facing off against Giannis Antetokounmpo as the two team captains. They’ll pick their teams right before the game — streetball style — and then get on the court and play.
One of the players who will wait to hear his name called on the court is former Laker and current New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle. Earlier this week, Randle was asked who he wanted to play with in the game, and gave two answers — LeBron James and Paul George. His reasoning for picking LeBron was pretty hilarious:
Randle was drafted by the Lakers in 2014, and remained with the organization until 2017. However, in 2018, the Lakers renounced their rights to him the day after signing LeBron out of free agency. Then, a week later, Randle signed with the Pelicans. Randle then joined the Knicks in 2019, and has blossomed into a star, making the All-Star game in two of the last three seasons.
So Randle and LeBron just missed each other in Los Angeles, and never got a chance to play together. And in 2021, when Randle made the All-Star game, he wasn’t picked to be on LeBron’s team. So, this All-Star game would definitely be a good opportunity to finally make that happen. We’ll see if LeBron makes Randle’s wish come true.
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