Kevin Durant Refuses to Pick James Harden on All-Star Team

Kevin Durant and LeBron James picked their All-Star teams today, and it all culminated in one hilarious and glorious moment - Durant refused to pick James Harden on his team.

There were only two players left on the board, Rudy Gobert and James Harden, with Durant deciding to pick Gobert. Durant already had size on his roster, so it felt very deliberate that he was trying to avoid picking Harden. So deliberate, that LeBron James immediately broke into laughter when hearing that Harden wasn't getting selected.

LeBron couldn't keep it together after KD picked Gobert over Harden 😅#NBAAllStar | @Nike pic.twitter.com/2wS1U8t7sE
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 11, 2022

After LeBron ultimately ended up choosing James Harden, he jokingly asked if Harden was available due to injury. The entire TNT crew cracked jokes at the stoic Durant's expense, with LeBron grinning the entire way.

"Hey LeBron, he's rubbing some icy hot on that thing," Charles Barkley joked. "He's playing the next game!"

By the end of the segment, even Kevin Durant couldn't hold back his smile. Here were the final members of Team LeBron and Team Durant.

Team Lebron: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Darius Garland. Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet, James Harden.

Team Durant: Kevin Durant (injured), Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young, Andrew Wiggins, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, Khris Middleton, LaMelo Ball, Rudy Gobert.

Sources: In addition to friction between James Harden and Kyrie Irving over Irving's availability, Harden also clashed with Kevin Durant on multiple fronts, including their ideals of the team's culture.

Many in BKN questioned Harden's commitment to the team prior to the trade.
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) February 10, 2022

Multiple sources revealed that there was an increasing rift between James Harden and Kevin Durant this season over a multitude of things, including their ideals of the team's culture. It had gotten to the point where many in Brooklyn began questioning Harden's commitment to the team prior to the trade. If there was any instance of this, just look no further to Durant refusing to pick Harden in the All-Star game.