It’s that time of year once again for NBA fans, it’s the NBA All-Star weekend! This will be the NBA’s 72nd annual all-star game and it will be held at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, the home of the Utah Jazz. The all-star weekend will take place starting on the 17th to the 19th of February, and all the major events will be broadcasted on TNT.

The big events of the all-star game to look forward to are the Kia Skills Challenge, the Starry 3-Point Contest, the AT&T Dunk Contest, and the most popular of them all, the NBA All-Star Game. Let’s look at who’s playing and what each event is. 

The next 3 major events of the weekend are the Kia Skills Challenge, Starry 3-Point Contest, and the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest. The events start at 8 p.m. ET on the 18th, and they will be on TNT. 

Kia Skills Challenge 

Starting off the night is the Kia Skills Challenge. The event contains three groups. The first is Team Antetokounmpo, which includes Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) and his brothers Alex (MIL), and Thanasis. The second team is Team Jazz which contains Jordan Clarkson (UTA), Walker Kessler (UTA), and Collin Sexton (UTA). The final team is Team Rookies which has Paolo Banchero (ORL), Jaden Ivey (DET), and Jabari Smith Jr. (HOU). The teams will compete in a relay, passing, and shooting competition. The shooting and passing completion test the players shooting and accuracy while the relay mixes speed and the previous two competitions together. For the shooting and passing competition, the more shots and passes completed will earn your team more points. For the relay, the faster your time is, the more points you will receive. The team that receives the most points throughout the three events wins the Skills Challenge. If two teams are tied in points, they will compete in a half-court shootout to determine the winner. 

 Starry 3-Point Contest

The second event of the night will be the Starry 3-Point Contest. The contest includes some of the best sharpshooting guards and forwards in the NBA. The eight participants that will compete are Tyrese Haliburton (IND), Tyler Herro (MIA), Kevin Huerter (SAC), Lauri Markkanen (UTA), Anfernee Simons (POR), Buddy Hield (IND), Jayson Tatum (BOS) and Damian Lillard (POR). There are five racks placed around the 3-point line. At each rack, there are five balls, four normal basketballs (worth 1 point each), and one striped moneyball (worth 2 points each). Before the round starts, the player chooses one of the five racks to contain five money balls instead of one. In addition to this, there will be two pedestals on each side of the court containing a ball at the “Starry Range”. These shots are way farther than the rest, but they will count as three points if made. In total the player will have to make as many shots as they can in 70 seconds. Out of the eight starting players, only three will advance to the final round. Out of those three players, only one will come out as the 3-Point champion. 

AT&T Dunk Contest 

The final event of the night will be the AT&T Dunk Contest. Kenyon Martin Jr. (HOU), Trey Murphy III (NOP), Jericho Sims (NYK), and Mac McClung (PHI) will compete. Performing in front of the five judges, players will show off their best dunks. They can use any props approved to ramp up their performance. The players will be given three attempts to complete their dunk. After each dunk, the five judges will rank it from 1 to 10. After two rounds of dunking, one player will be made the winner. 

The NBA All-Star Game

The most anticipated event of the weekend is the NBA All-Star game, which begins at 8 p.m. ET on the 19th. The game will be broadcasted on TNT. This year the captains for the all-star game are Lebron James (LAL) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL). Unlike the last few all-star games, the teams haven’t been revealed yet for each team and the two captains will draft their teams at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

The starters this year are Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Kevin Durant (PHX), Jayson Tatum (BOS), Donovan Mitchell (CLE), Kyrie Irving (DAL), LeBron James (LAL), Nikola Jokic (DEN), Zion Williamson (NOP), Stephen Curry (GSW), and Luka Doncic (DAL). Unfortunately, Stephen Curry (GSW), Kevin Durant (PHX), and Zion Williamson (NOP) are injured for this game, so they have been replaced by Ja Morant (MEM), Lauri Markkanen (UTA), and Joel Embiid (PHI) for starters.

The reserve pool this year consists of Paul George (LAC), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC), Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM), Damian Lillard (POR), Lauri Markkanen (UTA), Ja Morant (MEM), Domantas Sabonis (SAC), Bam Adebayo (MIA), Jaylen Brown (BOS), DeMar DeRozan (CHI), Joel Embiid (PHI), Tyrese Haliburton (IND), Jrue Holiday (MIL), Julius Randle (NYK), De’Aaron Fox (SAC), Pascal Siakam (TOR), and Anthony Edwards (MIN).

This star-studded cast is sure to bring an exhilarating performance to this year’s All-Star game. The two captains have also chosen two charities to support during the event, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah and Raise the Future. The two charities will earn $750,000 throughout the game. To win the game, you have to reach the target score. The target score is determined by adding 24 to the leading team’s score after three quarters. The fourth quarter will not have a time limit, so the game only ends once someone reaches the target score. 

This will definitely be fun to watch for all sports fans alike. Besides the four events mentioned here, there will also be the Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game (the 17th at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN) and the Jordan Rising Stars Game (the 17th at 9 p.m. ET on TNT). Be sure to watch all these exciting events unfold. As for me, I’ll definitely be watching all of these events as well.