NBA All-Star Saturday: Antetokounmpos in Skills; Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum in 3-Point Contest; Trey Murphy III in Slam Dunk
NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City begins Friday with the celebrity game and Rising Stars game, then continues with All-Star Saturday Night contests and the All-Star Game on Sunday at Vivint Arena, home of the Utah Jazz.
Participants for the Saturday night contests — Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk — were announced Tuesday. The events start at 8 p.m. ET Saturday (TNT). Here are the players competing in each event:
Skills Challenge
Team Antetokounmpo: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; Alex Antetokounmpo, Wisconsin Herd
Team Jazz: Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler
Team Rookies: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic; Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets; Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
The Skills Challenge will consist of three rounds: relay, passing and shooting. The winning team for each round will receive challenge points, and the team with the most challenge points after the three rounds will be the winner. If there is a tie, there will be a tiebreaker, with the tied teams taking halfcourt shots.
3-Point Contest
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Kevin Huerter, Sacramento Kings
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
Slam Dunk
Jericho Sims, New York Knicks
Mac McClung, Philadelphia 76ers (two-way contract)
Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
K.J. Martin, Houston Rockets
The judges for the Slam Dunk contest are Jamal Crawford, Lisa Leslie, Karl Malone, Harold Miner and Dominique Wilkins.
NBA All-Star Game
All-Star Game starters, reserves and injury replacements were previously announced. The All-Star Game Draft will be held on the court prior to the game, with the captains selecting first from the starters pool and then from the reserves pool. The draft starts at 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday (TNT/TBS). The game begins at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Western Conference starters
LeBron James, F, Los Angeles Lakers (captain)
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets
Luka Doncic, F/G, Dallas Mavericks
Ja Morant, G, Memphis Grizzlies
Lauri Markkanen, F/C, Utah Jazz
Western Conference reserves
Domantas Sabonis, C, Sacramento Kings
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G, Oklahoma City Thunder
Paul George, F, LA Clippers
Damian Lillard, G, Portland Trail Blazers
Jaren Jackson Jr., F, Memphis Grizzlies
Anthony Edwards, G, Minnesota Timberwolves
De’Aaron Fox, G, Sacramento Kings
Coach
Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets
Notes: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (leg) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (hamstring) were originally selected as starters but will not play due to injuries. Morant and Markkanen replaced them. Edwards and Fox were named injury replacements as reserves.
Eastern Conference starters
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks (captain)
Jayson Tatum, G/F, Boston Celtics
Kyrie Irving, G, Dallas Mavericks
Donovan Mitchell, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
Joel Embiid, F/C, Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern Conference reserves
DeMar DeRozan, F, Chicago Bulls
Jaylen Brown, G, Boston Celtics
Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat
Jrue Holiday, G, Milwaukee Bucks
Julius Randle, F, New York Knicks
Tyrese Haliburton, G, Indiana Pacers
Pascal Siakam, F, Toronto Raptors
Coach
Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics
Notes: Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant was selected as an Eastern Conference starter from the Brooklyn Nets before the trade deadline. Durant will not play due to an MCL sprain. Embiid replaced Durant as a starter, and Siakam was named an injury replacement as a reserve. Irving was named an Eastern Conference starter when still a member of the Nets.
Brown is dealing with a facial fracture and will miss his third straight game Tuesday. If he is unable to play in the All-Star Game, an additional injury replacement will be named.
Rising Stars
First- and second-year NBA players and G League players will participate in the Rising Stars game at 9 p.m. ET Friday (TNT). Four teams will compete in two games, with the winners of those games playing a third game for the Rising Stars title.
The two semifinal games will be played to a final target score of 40, and the championship game will be played to a target score of 25.
The coaches for the teams are Pau Gasol, Deron Williams and Joakim Noah, who drafted among the NBA rookies and sophomores, and Jason Terry, who will lead the G League team.
Here are the teams:
Team Pau
Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans
Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
Team Deron
Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
A.J. Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
Bones Hyland, LA Clippers
Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
Team Joakim
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs
Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks
Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
Team Jason
Sidy Cissoko, G League Ignite
Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
Mojave King, G League Ignite
Kenneth Lofton Jr., Memphis Hustle
Mac McClung, Delaware Blue Coats/Philadelphia 76ers (two-way contract)
Leonard Miller, G League Ignite
Scotty Pippen Jr., South Bay Lakers