All-Star Saturday (February 14) is one of the biggest events of the NBA season as the best and the brightest show what they can do in 4 fun events.
The events are the Skills contest, 3-point challenge, Shooting Stars contest & the classic slam dunk contest. They will all take place at The Barclay’s Center, in Brooklyn, NY.
Consumer Press has everything you need to know to catch all the action, including times, free live streaming options, event line-up, a list of participants and predictions.
Start Time: All-Star Saturday starts at 8 P.M. (EST) on TNT with the TNT NBA Tip-off. The events start at 8:30 P.M. (EST).
Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller will be calling the play-by-play action. Inside The NBA’s Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson & Kenny Smith will be analyzing and commentating throughout the broadcast as well.
Free Live streaming is available on your PC, through TNTdrama.com, TNTOvertime or on your tablet or smartphone the from the WatchTNT app, which can be downloaded from iTunes or The Google Play Store.
Streaming can be accessed from anywhere, but you will need to sign in with a participatiing cable provider to use these services.
Fanswho have an NBA League Pass can also stream the events to any of their devices or computer. For those interested, League Passes start at $69 for half a year (limited time).
Event Line Up: Events start at 8:30 P.M. and will air one after the other.
1st Event-Degree Shooting Stars: In this event there are numbered shooting spots around the court, with each spot getting furtjer away than the last. 4 teams compete to make the most shots, in order, in the fastest time.
This years teams are: Team Bosch, featuring Chris Bosh (Mia), Dominique Wilkins (Living Legend) & Swin Cash (NY Liberty); Team Curry, with Stephen Curry (GS), Dell Curry (Living Legend & Stephen’s dad) & Sue Bird (Seattle Storm);
Team Davis, with Anthony Davis (NO), Scottie Pippen (Living legend) & Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Skye); Team Westbrook featuring Russell Westbrook (OKC), Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway (Living legend) & Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever).
Team Bosh has won the event the last 2 years running- let’s see if they can 3-peat.
2nd Event–Taco Bell Skills Challenge: The court is set up like an obstacle course to assess skills such as passing, dribbling, shooting and more
2 players go head to head to see who finishes first, with the winner advancing in the next round. There are 8 competitors in all and 3 rounds. This year players are required to complete a 3-point shot to complete the course, which will make things more difficult- and intriguing.
This years competitors are: Trey Burke (Utah), Jimmy Butler (Chicago) Jeff Teague (Atlanta), Patrick Beverley (Houston)- who is replacing John Wall, Kyle Lowry (Toronto), Michael Carter-Williams (Philadelphia) & Isaiah Thomas (Milwaukee).
Trey Burke is the defending champion, but I’m going to pick Butler, who has been a real find for Chicago and has a good range of motion.
3rd Event–Foot Locker 3-Point Challenge: In this timed, 1-minute event there are 5 shooting stations around the 3-point arc and each station has a rack of 5 basketballs.
Each rack has 4 regular balls and one orange ball. The regular balls are worth 1 point and the orange is worth 2 points. The 3 players with the most points advance to the 2nd round, which decides the winner.
This years competitors are: Marco Belinelli (San Antonio), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Klay Thompson (Golden State), James Harden (Houston), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland), Kyle Korver (Atlanta), Wesley Matthews (Portland) & J.J. Redick (Los Angeles Clippers).
All of these guys are strong 3-point shooters, but I think it will come down to Golden State’s dynamic duo of Curry and Thompson, who have both been on a tear this season. I’m calling for Curry to take this one.
4th Event-Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. This is the most famous of the All-Star events, although it has lost some of it’s punch in recent years. This year, in honor of the contests 30th anniversary they will be going back tot he old-school format: 4 players, 2 rounds and each player has no time limit, but only 3 attempts to complete whatever dunk they choose. 5 judges will score each player on a scale from 6 to 10.
This year there are 4 rookies o this even, so fans get to see some fresh faces: Zach Levine (Minnesota), Victor Oladipo (Orlando), Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee).
I think just about anyone could win, but I’m going with Oladipo, who’s star seems to be on the rise.
Which event are you most excited to see? Who do you think will win? Share your thoughts on All-Star Saturday with us below.
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