All-star weekend is one of the most exciting times of the year for NBA fans. Whether you want to see some of the best shooters try to earn their title as the best shooter in the world in the 3pt contest, watch some of best players in the world go at each other in the classic all-star game, or see highlight reel dunks that will leave you in awe during the dunk contest, this weekend has something for everybody. With that in mind, let’s take a look into whose set to compete in these three spectacular events.
The 3pt contest is one of the only events at all-star weekend that has had no revamping over the past few years. The contest works by having five racks set up along the outside of the arc with five balls at each spot. Each rack will consist of one moneyball worth two points and a rack of their choice consisting of all moneyballs. The three players with the most points at the end of round one will move on to the finals to compete for the trophy.
Thee eight players who will competing in this event with be:
- Buddy Hield (Golden State Warriors)
- Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)
- Norman Powell (Los Angeles Clippers)
- Tyler Herro (Miami Heat)
- Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)
- Cameron Johnson (New York Nets)
- Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers)
While the 3pt contest did not need any change, the all-star game was in dire need of just that. Over the last few years, the all-star game has changed formats in almost every one, but never quite as drastically as this. The NBA announced that the game will be played in a tournament style with three of the teams being drafted, and one being the winner of the rising stars game. The all-star coaches will be no other than TNT’s Shaq, Charles, and Kenny, with Candace Parker being the coach for rising stars winner. While no formats for this game have seemed to stick, we’ll have to wait and see if this tournament style idea breaks the curse.
Last but definitely not least, you can’t have an all-star weekend without the dunk contest. The most electrifying event out there and has been run by one man over the past couple years, Mac McClung. The guys not even in the NBA for most of the year, but he gets brought up every year just for this event. His creative and explosiveness is unreal for somebody of his size as he seems to always just defy the odds. He will look to be the first player to ever win the dunk contest three years in a row and is the runaway favorite to do so.
The four competitors in this year’s dunk contest will be:
- Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls)
- Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs)
- Andre Jackson Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Mac McClung (G League, Osceola Magic)
