LeBron James couldn’t contain his laughter during the 2022 NBA All-Star Draft as fellow captain Kevin Durant tried to rationalize choosing Rudy Gobert over James Harden, who was traded by the Brooklyn Nets just hours ago.
Harden headlined a blockbuster deal that sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks.
With six names remaining in the reserves pool, Charles Barkley seemed to be reading the tea leaves and let out a little laugh. After Ernie Johnson tried to investigate what Barkley found so funny, it became clear that the entire NBA on TNT crew saw what was going on. Chuck referenced a rumor that Harden spent the last few days trying to push his way out of Brooklyn.
Once James took Donovan Mitchell off the board, Barkley was cracking jokes about the awkward circumstance that Durant found himself in, which caused LeBron to crack a smile. The King chose Fred VanVleet with his next pick, leaving KD with the choice of Gobert or his now former teammate.
As Durant delivered a long-winded explanation why he was going with Gobert because he needed “size” on his team, James was covering his face with a clipboard to hide his laughter. When Harden was officially on Team LeBron, he wondered if he would be healthy enough to play since he missed the last few games with hamstring tightness.
“He got traded, he’s healthy now,” Barkley responded. Even Durant couldn’t help but laugh at his joke.
