***2017 NBA All Star Weekend Schedule and Discussion***

[bwgood77]

Friday

BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge Practice | 10:30 AM ET | NBA TV

All-Star media availability | 12:00 PM ET | NBA TV

All Star Celebrity Game | 7:00 PM ET | ESPN



Michael Smith’s West Team



Spoiler:

Miles Brown (actor)
Tom Cavanagh (actor)
Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner)
Baron Davis (NBA legend)
Andy Grammer (recording artist)
Jiang Jinfu (actor, model)
Anthony Mackie (actor)
Romeo Miller (actor, recording artist)
Hasan Minhaj (actor, comedian)
Master P (actor, recording artist)
Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks)
Aarón Sánchez (celebrity chef)



Jemele Hill’s East Team



Spoiler:

Brandon Armstrong (former NBA D-League player and social media star)
Win Butler (musician)
Nick Cannon (actor, recording artist)
Rachel DeMita (NBA2K TV personality)
Ansel Elgort (actor, recording artist)
Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks owner)
Caleb McLaughlin (actor)
Peter Rosenberg (media personality)
Oscar Schmidt (Basketball legend)
Lindsay Whalen (WNBA player)
Jason Williams (NBA legend)
Kris Wu (recording artist)




Michael Smith will be joined by coaches Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors) and Rocsi Diaz (television personality). Jemele Hill will be joined by coaches Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors) and Fat Joe (recording artist)



BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge | 9:00 PM ET | TNT



U.S. Team Roster



Devin Booker (Suns)
Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
Marquese Chriss (Suns)
Brandon Ingram (Lakers)
Frank Kaminsky (Hornets)
Jahlil Okafor (76ers)
D’Angelo Russell (Lakers)
Jonathon Simmons (Spurs)
Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
Myles Turner (Pacers)


World Team Roster



Alex Abrines* (Thunder)
Danté Exum (Jazz)
Buddy Hield (Pelicans)
Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Trey Lyles (Jazz)
Willy Hernangomez** (Knicks)
Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
Domantas Sabonis (Thunder)
Dario Saric (76ers)
* injury replacement for Joel Embiid
** injury replacement for Emmanuel Mudiay


The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns, last season’s unanimous Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, highlight the list of 20 players selected by the league’s assistant coaches to play in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 17 during NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Abrines will replace injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid on the World Team.

For the third consecutive year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the U.S. against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. The game will be televised live by TNT at 9 p.m. ET and will also be available on the Watch TNT App and on TNT Overtime.

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Saturday

Hall of Fame Announcement | 11:00 AM ET |

NBA All-Star Practice | 12:00 PM ET | NBA TV

NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire | 2:30 PM ET | NBA TV

Commissioner Adam Silver media availability | 7:00 PM ET | NBA TV

State Farm All-Star Saturday Night | 8:00 PM ET | TNT


Taco Bell Skills Challenge


Spoiler:






2017 Taco Bell Skills Challenge Participants



Devin Booker (Suns)
DeMarcus Cousins (Kings)
Anthony Davis (Pelicans)
Gordon Hayward (Jazz)
Nikola Jokic* (Nuggets)
Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
Isaiah Thomas (Celtics)
John Wall (Wizards)
* injury replacement for Joel Embiid


NBA All-Star Game starter Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and fellow All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings, Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics and John Wall of the Washington Wizards will compete in the 2017 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Joining the five 2017 All-Stars in the eight-player field are two members of the 2015-16 NBA All-Rookie First Team, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic will replace injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.

The Taco Bell® Skills Challenge format calls for two players to compete simultaneously on an identical course with the fastest finisher reaching the next round. In the first round, the eight players are paired to participate in four head-to-head competitions. The four winners advance to the second round, where two more head-to-head showdowns determine the two finalists.



JBL Three-Point Contest



Spoiler:



2017 JBL Three-Point Contest Particpants

Eric Gordon (Rockets)
Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)
Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
Wes Matthews (Mavericks)
CJ McCollum (Blazers)
Klay Thompson (Warriors)
Kemba Walker (Hornets)
Nick Young (Lakers)


Defending champion Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and 2013 winner Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the list of four NBA All-Stars who will showcase their shooting range in the 2017 JBL Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

The eight-player field also features 2017 All-Stars Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, as well as Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets, Wesley Matthews of the Dallas Mavericks, CJ McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers and Nick Young of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The JBL Three-Point Contest is a two-round, timed competition in which five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc. Four racks contain four orange balls (each worth one point) and one multicolored “money” ball (worth two points). The fifth rack is a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five shooting locations. Every ball on this rack is worth two points.

The players have one minute to shoot as many as the 25 balls as they can. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round.




Verizon Slam Dunk



Spoiler:



2017 Verizon Slam Dunk Participants

Aaron Gordon (Magic)
DeAndre Jordan (Clippers)
Glenn Robinson III (Pacers)
Derrick Jones Jr. (Suns)

The Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon, last year’s runner-up, and NBA All-Star DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers will take flight in the 2017 Verizon Slam Dunk on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Gordon and Jordan are joined in the four-player field by Derrick Jones Jr. of the Phoenix Suns and Glenn Robinson III of the Indiana Pacers.

Verizon Slam Dunk is a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.

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Sunday

NBA Legends Brunch | 11:00 AM ET | NBA TV (1:00 PM Coverage)

66th NBA All-Star Game| 8:00 PM ET | TNT

Spoiler:


Western Conference Roster

Stephen Curry
James Harden
Kevin Durant
Kawhi Leonard
Anthony Davis
Russell Westbrook
DeMarcus Cousins
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Marc Gasol
DeAndre Jordan
Gordon Hayward

Eastern Conference Roster

Kyrie Irving
DeMar DeRozan
LeBron James
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jimmy Butler
Isaiah Thomas
John Wall
Kyle Lowry
Paul George
Kemba Walker
Paul Millsap
Carmelo Anthony

*Kevin Love



The stars are headed to the Big Easy this year as New Orleans will host the 66th NBA All-Star Game -- this will be the third time that the New Orleans has hosted All-Star Weekend.

All-Star Starters

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving of the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the league-leading Golden State Warriors headline the list of 10 players selected by fans, NBA players and media to start in the NBA All-Star Game 2017. James and Durant finished as the top vote-getters at their respective positions among all three voting groups.

All-Star Reserves

Two-time reigning Kia NBA All-Star MVP Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and first-time All-Stars Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets lead the list of 14 players selected by the NBA’s head coaches as reserves for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.

NBA All-Star 2017

NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 66th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center, will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 15th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 32nd year of NBA All-Star coverage. Smoothie King Center will also host the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 17 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 18. The NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

[NuggetsWY]

I'm recording all of them on the DVR but the event that interests me the most is the Rising Stars.
I'll watch the All-Star game itself, just because I haven't missed one since 1969 (except when I was stationed overseas - back then those were strictly U.S. only - at least where I was) --- I think I saw a couple before that, but I don't really remember for sure. We only got two channels on our TV and I think there were a couple of games we didn't get.
Anyway, I'll spot check the rest of the events using lots of fast-forward.
Anybody else watching much?

[skywalker33]

Well, a Nuggets is the Rising Star MVP for the 2nd year in a row. Not who everyone thought is was going to be..its our own Jamal Murray exploding for 36pts on 9 of 14 from 3pt land !! Woo Hoo !!!

Hey WY, did you happen to record the celebrity chanllenge too....what a JOKE that is.

[NuggetsWY]

Well, a Nuggets is the Rising Star MVP for the 2nd year in a row. Not who everyone thought is was going to be..its our own Jamal Murray exploding for 36pts on 9 of 14 from 3pt land !! Woo Hoo !!!

Hey WY, did you happen to record the celebrity chanllenge too....what a JOKE that is.

Yeah, I recorded it. What was really nice about it was that I could continue trying to catch up on my emails and I didn't miss anything of significance. It was the first time I watched that event and I hereby do swear, affirm, and promise that it will be my last time watching that event. Of course if you want to give me a ticket for, I would be happy to use it to light my pellet stove.

I very much enjoyed the Rising Stars game and not just because of Murray. The Nuggets showed well:
Jokic ... 6-9. 12 pts .. 11 reb 8 ast 3 stl
Murray 13-19 35 pts 9-14 3s 11 ast

There were a few other players that showed well. Most of them were "high scorers" but they also had fairly complete contributions. The future is looking good.

Saric ..... 7-10 17 pts 3-5 3s 5 reb 4 ast
Porzingis 11-16 24 pts ..... 10 reb
Hield .... 11-22 28 pts ...... 8 reb 3 ast
Towns ... 11-14 24 pts ..... 11 reb
Kaminsky 12-16 33 pts

[skywalker33]

Discouraging to see KP getting 33mins to Jokic's 21....east coast bias remains in tact !!

[NuggetsWY]

Discouraging to see KP getting 33mins to Jokic's 21....east coast bias remains in tact !!

If Jokic were getting more minutes on the Nuggets, he'd probably get more respect elsewhere. Did you see the Raptors & Knicks fans postings about Murray? (Especially the Raptors.) Even a few other fans were shocked at Murray's play.

Can Murray play like that every game? Doubt it. Same with Hernangomez. But the more playing time they get, the more consistent they'll become.

Funny thought: Celebrity All-star game and D-league All-star game both had microphone issues for the sideline reporters. No big deal because those aren't the big stage, right? Wrong. They've gotta be using the same technology the NBA All-stars will use. TV networks are not taking two different sets of technology.

Funny thought on D-league game: Fans gave them a pathetic welcome during their introductions.
Funny thought 2 on D-league: 25 of 30 NBA teams now have a D-league affiliate. Can you name one that hasn't bothered?

[NuggetsWY]

Is it just me or are there more empty seats at the All-Star Game than there were for the Saturday events?