Kevin Durant selects Sixers superstar Joel Embiid with his first pick in NBA All-Star Game draft

Thursday afternoon, Philadelphia 76ers fans received wonderful news when the team acquired star guard James Harden via trade. Later in the day, more good news, albeit to a lesser degree, occurred. Kevin Durant chose Sixers superstar Joel Embiid with his first pick in the 2021-22 NBA All-Star game draft.

Embiid is joined by fellow stars like Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum and Trae Young on Team Durant. The full roster is as follows:

This will be Embiid’s first participation in the game since 2020 after he and Ben Simmons were forced to quarantine and miss last year’s game, due to close contact exposure with a positive COVID case.

Shortly before Durant tabbed Embiid as his first pick, he was asked about Thursday’s trade, which saw the Brooklyn Nets send out Harden and Paul Millsap in exchange for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick.

“I’m excited,” Durant said. “I think everybody got what they wanted.”

Harden was the last pick of the draft by LeBron James.

Embiid and Durant are two of the NBA’s premier scorers. Watching them rain fire together later this month should be a treat. It’s pretty darn sweet for Embiid and his fans that he’s reached a point to be selected first in a draft of the league’s best. Enjoy it, folks.