The NBA’s 65th annual All-Star activities will kick off this Valentine’s weekend in Toronto, which will become the first city outside of the U.S. to host the game and its related events.
Both the Celebrity Game and the Rising Stars Challenge will take place Friday night, providing a spirited and entertaining opening to a busy slate of weekend events.
While the All-Star Game will take prime time on Sunday, Saturday’s Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Competition are perhaps just as anticipated as the game itself.
Four of the eight players in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge are frontcourt players, which is an all-time high for the event. The NBA’s triple-double leader this season, Golden State Warriors’ forward Draymond Green, leads the notable list of forwards and centers. Sacramento Kings’ center Demarcus Cousins joins Green, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves’ rookie Karl-Anthony Towns as the remaining frontcourt players in the competition.
The Skills Challenge will precede the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, which is highlighted by last season’s MVP, Stephen Curry. Curry joins fellow Warriors’ backcourt member Klay Thompson as the favorites to win the event. In a field of eight players, some other competitors include: J.J. Redick of the Los Angeles Clippers, James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns’ rookie Devin Booker.
The Verizon Slam-Dunk Contest should compete with the Three-Point Contest to be Saturday’s biggest spectacle. The Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon, Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets, Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and defending-champion Zach Lavine from the Timberwolves will all clash in hopes of being dubbed the NBA’s best dunker. Expectations are high for Levine, who earned perfect scores on two different dunks at last year’s contest en route to winning the competition in his rookie season.
Following a busy Saturday evening, the main event will be held late on Valentine’s Day. One of the biggest headlines coming into the game is its status as Kobe Bryant’s 17th and final All-Star selection, as he is retiring at the conclusion of this season. Bryant, a career-long Los Angeles Laker, will be starting for the Western Conference after earning the most number of fan votes at almost 1.9 million. Curry was second overall in votes, tallying just over 1.6 million.
While Bryant and Curry headline the West, Cavaliers’ forward LeBron James and his former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade lead the Eastern Conference. James earned just over a million votes while Wade checked in at around 940,000. There are two first-time All-Stars for the West: Golden State’s Green and Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs. Boston Celtics’ guard Isaiah Thomas and Detroit’s Drummond are the first-timers for the East.
Spurs’ head coach, Gregg Popovich, will coach the West. Tyronn Lue, newly named Cavaliers’ head coach, will lead the East.
Scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start, the All-Star Game, as well as Friday and Saturday’s festivities, will be broadcast on TNT.
