Team Lebron vs Team Giannis Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA All Star Game

Prediction published on 18/02/2023, 14:06  by Joseph King | Modified on 18/02/2023 at 14:06 in Basketball Predictions

The 72nd edition of the NBA All-Star game is set to tip off this Sunday with Team LeBron taking on Team Giannis at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. All-Star weekend’s marquee event sees yet another change this season as the two team captains, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, will now select the players for their teams just 30 minutes before the start of the game. This is in contrast to previous years as, since the introduction of the team captain format, the teams were selected well in advance of the event. Recent editions of the All-Star game have also seen the introduction of the ELAM system to determine the winner. This system effectively eliminates the timed fourth quarter and makes it so the first team to reach the set target of points is crowned the winner. It proved to be a huge success since its implementation, thus leading the NBA to incorporate the system once more for the 2023 event. 

LeBron James has proven to have a knack for putting together solid, balanced teams in this type of event which has resulted in the King winning his last five consecutive All-Star games since the team captain draft system was applied. With that being said, there are a few factors that could point towards that streak finally coming to an end here. Opposing team captain Giannis Antetokounmpo has stated publicly his desire to finally snap LeBron’s winning streak and the player draft occurring just moments before the actual game will be played adds a wildcard element.

There is also the individual performance of the two captains to take into account. LeBron is nursing a foot injury and has only scored two points since passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the league’s all-time leading scorer. There is a good chance we see LeBron on extremely limited minutes or perhaps not even feature at all. In comparison to Giannis, who has dominated the All-Star game in his six appearances. The Greek Freak’s history in the all-star game is impressive as his play style lends itself to getting a boatload of uncontested dunks at the rim as defenders will rarely challenge or foul their fellow all-stars. Giannis has cracked 30 or more points in four of his six All-Star appearances and is shooting a ridiculous 71.4% in the exhibition games – further proof of how many uncontested slams he gets. He also won the All-Star game MVP in the 2021 edition, dropping 35 points on a perfect 16 for 16 from the floor.