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There’s a weekend-long basketball party in LA and The Quint is at ground zero.
Now that I have that piece of vital information out of the way, let’s talk NBA. More importantly, the NBA’s All-Star weekend, being held this time at the home of Hollywood, Los Angeles.
When they tell you the venue of your assignment is a 24-hour plane(s) ride away, I’m definitely not going to be the first person signing up. But this is the NBA, at LA. These are the times of Stephen Curry vs LeBron James and well, Jamie Foxx is going to be at an arm’s distance from the Ray Charles fan in me. So yes! 24 hours and a major jet lag later, I’m reporting from Los Angeles’ NBA All-Star Weekend!
So, what’s happening here? The NBA basically hosts one big (read: massive) weekend event each year where they get the best players from the league together, the best of the stars you catch on the sidelines the rest of the year and some of the young players who are likely to be the stars a few years down the line. Mix all of them together and there’re three big events starting Friday.
Here’s a lowdown on all that’s happening and details of the event being telecast live by Sony.
Friday: The All-Star Celebrity Game
Justin Bieber and Jamie Foxx – NBA have found a way to get the millennials looking forward to this match being telecast in India on Saturday morning. Yep, both singers (and actors) will be facing off as part of their All-Star Celebrity teams.
The “Team Clippers” vs. “Team Lakers” game at the Verizon Up Arena at Los Angeles Convention Centre is the headline act on Friday night and it will see actors, musicians and sports stars line up for two teams and fight for bragging rights.
Friday: The Rising Stars Challenge
Live and Exclusive on SONY SIX HD, SONY SIX SD at 7:30 am on Saturday
Before the big guns take the stage on Sunday, the Rising Stars Challenge showcases the best of the rookies in the NBA. The event will see 10 American players in their first or second seasons take on 10 players in their first or second seasons from across the world. This time, the World Team’s 10 players hail from nine different countries.
One player to look forward to in this game would be Philadelphia 76ers Ben Simmons in line for the rookie of the year title. The 6-foot-10 point guard has scored six triple-doubles and stunned many this season.
All Star Saturday Night
Live and Exclusive on SONY SIX HD, SONY SIX SD, SONY TEN 3 HD, SONY TEN 3 SD at 6:30 am on Sunday
Three events lined up for Saturday evening. The skills challenge, a three-point contest and a slam dunk event.
Taco Bell Skills Challenge
With Embiid, Horford and Markkanen competing, this marks the third straight year that four big men will be showing off their versatility in the previously guard-focused event. Big men were crowned champion in each of the last two competitions, with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns winning in 2016 and Porzingis defeating Gordon Hayward in last year’s final round.
Participants: Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn Nets), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Al Horford (Boston Celtics), Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Lou Williams (LA Clippers)
JBL Three-Point Contest
Defending champion Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets and 2016 winner Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors will showcase their shooting skills in this event. Thompson is one of the four 2018 NBA All-Stars in the competition, along with the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George and the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry. The eight-player field also features the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, the Miami Heat’s Wayne Ellington and the LA Clippers’ Tobias Harris.
Participants: Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets), Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Paul George (Oklahoma City Thunder), Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Wayne Ellington (Miami Heat), Tobias Harris (LA Clippers)
Verizon Slam Dunk
NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, 2016 runner-up Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic and first-time participants Larry Nance Jr. of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dennis Smith Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks will display their aerial creativity in the 2018 Verizon Slam Dunk on Saturday, 17 February at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Participants: Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers), Larry Nance, Jr. (Cleveland Cavaliers), Dennis Smith, Jr. (Dallas Mavericks)
Monday - NBA All-Star Game
Monday, 6:30 am: NBA All-Star Game Live and Exclusive on SONY SIX HD, SONY SIX SD,SONY TEN 3 HD, SONY TEN 3 SD
The showcase event, because all entertainment aside, it is about basketball. It is about Steph Curry and LeBron James.
The time round, the format of the event also has been tweaked a bit and instead of the regular 'Eastern Conference vs Western Conference’ showcase, Curry and James got to pick players for their teams from a pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference.
Since LeBron got to pick first, Curry’s GSW teammate Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are in his team while Curry enrolled the league’s current top-scorers James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The draft was not open to public and players refused to name who they picked first.
Former Black-Eyed Peas singer and multiple Grammy-award winner Fergie will sing the US National Anthem before the All-Star game. Barenaked Ladies, the Canadian rock band, will sing the anthem for Canada.
Comedian Kevin Hart will take to the stage before the game while Grammy winner Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D are expected to perform a medley during the Halftime show.
For the winning team, there will be bragging rights and also a big check for the charity of their choice. The winning team’s organisation will receive $350,000 and the losing team’s organisation will receive $150,000. Team LeBron has chosen to play for After-School All-Stars Los Angeles and Team Stephen has selected Brotherhood Crusade.
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