LeBron James Explains Donovan Mitchell & Rudy Gobert Being Picked Last

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LeBron James
The Utah Jazz players weren't very popular during the All-Star draft.

Last night was a big one for the NBA as LeBron James and Kevin Durant got together to draft their All-Star teams for this Sunday. Fans were wondering how each player would decide to go and for the most part, it was fairly predictable. For instance, LeBron took Giannis Antetokounmpo with the first overall pick, which is something that every fan should have seen coming.

Perhaps the strangest occurrence in the draft was the fact that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the two Utah Jazz players, were picked last. The Jazz are first in the Western Conference this season which had fans thinking they would be more respected. As LeBron explained, however, the Jazz are a franchise that he never thought about as a kid playing video games, and that's why he didn't think to take the two Jazz superstars.

"There’s no slander to the Utah Jazz,” LeBron said. "You’ve got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. As great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would never pick those guys in video games.” 

Despite the explanation, many saw this as a direct shot at the Jazz, who are a team with a ton of potential. Of course, NBA Twitter likes to blow things out of proportion which certainly made things a bit worse. Regardless, Mitchell and Gobert are All-Stars, which is all that really matters.

LeBron James Explains Donovan Mitchell & Rudy Gobert Being Picked Last
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About The Author
Alexander Cole is the current editor-in-chief of HotNewHipHop. He started at HotNewHipHop back in 2018 where he began as a Sports and Sneakers writer. It was here where he began to hone his craft, putting his journalism degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, to good use. Since that time, he has documented some of the biggest stories in the hip-hop world. From the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef to the disturbing allegations against Diddy, Alex has helped HotNewHipHop navigate large-scale stories as they happen. In 2021, he went to the Bahamas for the Big 3's Championship Game. It was here where he got to interview legendary figures like Ice Cube, Clyde Drexler, and Stephen Jackson. He has also interviewed other superstar athletes such as Antonio Brown, Damian Lillard, and Paul Pierce. This is in addition to conversations with social media provocateurs like Jake Paul, and younger respected artists like Kaycyy, Lil Tecca, and Jeleel!
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