Lace up your basketball shoes, the NBA All Star Weekend is here! Catch all the action this weekend on VMedia, live from Charlotte, North Carolina. With Toronto’s own Kawhi Leonard on Team LeBron, and Kyle Lowry on Team Giannis, here’s everything you need to know ahead of this weekend:
Format
This year’s game follows the same format as year’s successful game in which two All Star Captains hand pick their players. This year’s teams are:
Team LeBron
Starters: Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard
Reserves: LaMarcus Aldridge, Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons, Klay Thompson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Dwyane Wade
Team Giannis:
Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kemba Walker
Reserves: Blake Griffin, Nikola Jokic, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Dirk Nowitzki, D’Angelo Russell, Nikola Vucevic, Russell Westbrook
LeBron James, the Recruiter
The big story is superstar LeBron hand selecting five pending free agents for his team. As Giannis joked himself, LeBrom may be tampering and is in search of a second star player to play with side-by-side on the LA Lakers. This game will give LeBron plenty of time to make his pitch that his temporary teammates should join him in LA full time. The pendulum swings in LeBron’s favour for this year’s game with Team LeBron having arguably the best players in the league – Durant, Irving, Leonard, Harden, Davis and Thompson.
Newcomers on Team Giannis
While there may be jokes about Giannis’ GM skills, Giannis has chosen several first time all-stars; Khris Middleton, who is the second leading scorer on Bucks, Nikola Jokic with standout passing skills, Nets lead scorer D’Angelo Russell, and Magic’s lead scorer Nikola Vucevic.
Steph and Seth Rivalry
The two brothers will go face to face in Saturday’s 3-point contest in their hometown of Charlotte. Knowing the Curry family, we can expect lots of friendly trash talk and maybe even a surprise guest appearance from their father, Hornets legend, Dell Curry. If the two brothers make it to the finals against each other, it could be the most memorable moment of the entire weekend.
Wade and Nowitzki
Dwyane Wade has already announced plans of retiring after this season and Dirk Nowitzki is widely expected do the same. NBA has allowed the two all star players to play – with Wade on Team LeBron (of course) and Dirk on Team Giannis.
How to Watch:
Friday, February 15
7 PM: NBA All Star Celebrity Game – TSN 1, TSN 4, TSN 5
9 PM: Mountain Dew Ice Rising Stars Game – TSN 1, TSN 4, TSN 5
Saturday, February 16
7 PM: NBA All-Star Saturday Night Pre-Game – TSN 1, TSN 3, TSN 4, TSN 5
8 PM: State Farm All-Star Saturday Night – TSN 1, TSN 3, TSN 4, TSN 5
- 1st event — Taco Bell Skills Challenge
- 2nd event — Three Point Contest
- 3rd event — AT&T Slam Dunk
Sunday, February 17
8 PM: 68th NBA All Star Game – Sportsnet One
Catch all the NBA All Star action this weekend with TSN and Sportsnet. Enjoy these great channels in VMedia’s popular Premium Flex and Grand Premium TV packages. In addition, right now, get $21.95 off these packages and save over $130 for the first 6 months. Or, check out Skinny TV – free for 6 months, and bundle with our Super Sports Pack with all the popular sports channels, including TSN 1-5, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet One, and MLB Network.
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