LOS ANGELES • LeBron James knows just how valuable Anthony Davis is, and accordingly made his Los Angeles Lakers teammate his first selection in the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game draft on Thursday.

For the second straight year, James and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, as captains of the two All-Star teams, picked their rosters from players selected for the contest by fan votes and NBA coaches.

James will be seeking a third victory as an All-Star captain in the mid-season showcase in Chicago on Feb 16. As the top vote-getter in fan balloting, he had first pick and did not hesitate to take Davis.

"I know you're all surprised," he said as the draft unfolded on TV.

Antetokounmpo tapped Philadelphia's Cameroonian big man Joel Embiid, "my African brother", as his first pick.

James next opted for Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, while Antetokounmpo, a Greek citizen of Nigerian descent, went for Toronto's Cameroonian power forward Pascal Siakam.

James gambled with his next selection, taking Luka Doncic of Dallas even though the Slovenian star is currently nursing a right ankle sprain. He rounded out his starters with Houston's James Harden, the league's leading scorer, while Antetokounmpo took Boston's Kemba Walker and Atlanta's Trae Young.

When they got to the reserves, Antetokounmpo opened with Milwaukee Bucks teammate Khris Middleton and James selected Portland's Damian Lillard.

Also on team Giannis: Miami's Bam Adebayo, Utah defensive standout Rudy Gobert and Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell, Miami's Jimmy Butler, Toronto's Kyle Lowry and Brandon Ingram of New Orleans.

James added Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Boston's Jayson Tatum, Oklahoma City veteran Chris Paul, Houston's Russell Westbrook and Domantas Sabonis of Indiana.

"There's no wrong choice," James said. "They're all All-Stars for a reason."

There are a number of changes to this year's All-Star Game format.

Teams will compete to win each quarter for their designated charities. And when the third quarter ends, 24 will be added to the score of the team that is leading and the first team to reach that number in an untimed fourth quarter will be declared the winner.

The NBA announced last week that the All-Star weekend would feature several tributes to NBA icon Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others who died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles last month.

Team LeBron players will all wear No. 2 on their jerseys, the number Gianna wore on her school basketball team. Team Giannis will wear No. 24 in tribute to Bryant.

Los Angeles will also host a public memorial on Feb 24 at Staples Centre, American media reported on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Times, citing two unnamed sources, and CNN, citing a source close to the Bryant family, were among the outlets to report the news, which had not been announced officially.

The "2-24" date would again carry some symbolism in line with Bryant and Gianna's jersey numbers.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS