All-Star weekend has reached its final day in San Francisco.
Sunday night is the All-Star Game — or tournament. It’s a new format for the All-Star Game this year. It’s now a mini-tournament with games going only to 40 points.
All-Star Saturday saw Mac McClung become the first back-to-back-to-back dunk champion, Tyler Herro win the 3-point contest, Team Cavs win the skills event and Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul get disqualified from the skills competition for circumventing the rules in the NBA's opinion.
Here’s what to know about All-Star weekend:
Where to watch Sunday's events?
Sunday — NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max); NBA All-Star postgame (NBA TV).
Saturday's headlines
— The All-Star Game is here. Will the new format work?
— Mac to Mac to Mac: McClung three-peats in dunk contest, Tyler Herro wins 3-point
— Wemby, CP3 disqualified from skills competition
— Adam Silver's annual All-Star news conference touched on many topics
— The HBCU Classic was in Oakland, and Damian Lillard was among those thrilled by that
— Draymond Green says the current NBA game is ‘boring'
Who are the All-Stars?
The All-Stars are split into three teams of eight players this year, drafted by TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. The rundown:
Chuck's Global Stars: Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Houston’s Alperen Sengun, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Trae Young. (Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was supposed to play but cannot because of injury. Young replaced him for the game.)
Shaq's OGs: Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving, Boston teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard and the Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden. (Dallas' Anthony Davis was supposed to play but cannot because of injury. Irving replaced him for the game.)
Kenny's Young Stars: Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, Cleveland teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Miami’s Tyler Herro.
Shaq's OGs will play Candace's Rising Stars, named for Candace Parker, the team that won the Rising Stars event: Castle, Utah's Keyonte George, Phoenix’s Ryan Dunn, Memphis teammates Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells, Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dalton Knecht and — added to the roster late Friday — Houston’s Amen Thompson.
What’s the All-Star Game format?
The NBA has made the All-Star Game a mini-tournament this year, with four teams playing games to 40 points. There’s no clock (other than the shot clock) and nobody fouls out.
The semifinal matchups: Chuck’s Global Stars vs. Kenny’s Young Stars, Shaq's OGs vs. Candace's Rising Stars.
Who are the betting favorites?
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Team Shaq is the All-Star favorite at +105, ahead of Team Chuck (+185). Team Kenny is at +425 and Team Candace is at +900.
What’s the recent All-Star news?
— Stephen and Ayesha Curry are the hosts this weekend and savor all that title means
— Spurs’ Stephon Castle wins MVP of Rising Stars game, his team earns All-Star berth
— Damian Lillard returns home, and Oakland still means everything to him
— The NBA’s tech summit turns 25
— LeBron James, and his place in All-Star history
— There’s no Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu rematch this year
— Wemby leads the list of six All-Star game rookies
— The Warriors are making a splash with their own record label
— Mac McClung is back in the dunk contest, looking for third consecutive title
— Kevin Hart will be the on-court emcee for the All-Star Game
— Trae Young Kyrie Irving picked as All-Star replacements for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis
— Giannis Antetokounmpo won't play at All-Star weekend
— Damian Lillard, Victor Wembanyama among those in All-Star Saturday
— How the new All-Star format works
— LeBron picked for 21st All-Star Game, extending his NBA record
Who are the officials?
Kevin Scott, Tre Maddox and Eric Dalen will be the officials for Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Who is performing at the All-Star Game?
DJ Cassidy, Too $hort, Saweetie, En Vogue and Raphael Saadiq will be among the featured performers on All-Star Sunday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
The Associated Press
