This year’s NBA All-Star Game will be conducted entirely differently when the league’s top players gather in the San Francisco Bay Area for a full weekend of celebrations beginning on February 14.
They have chosen the NBA All-Stars. Assigning them to teams is the next task.
The 14 players named as reserves were unveiled on Thursday, while the 10 players named as starts were announced on January 23. For the games that will take place on February 16 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, the home court of the Golden State Warriors, those 24 players will now be selected into eight-player teams.
Who will select the teams?
On February 6, the teams will be drafted by TNT analysts and basketball legends Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith. Team Shaq, Team Charles, and Team Kenny will be the names of the eight-player teams.
They will select from this group of athletes:
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland
The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard
Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson
A member of the Detroit Pistons, Cade Cunningham
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards
The Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden
Phoenix Suns player Kevin Durant
Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Nikola
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry
Siakam, Pascal, of the Pacers
The Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro
Sengun, Alperen, of the Houston Rockets
The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr.
Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs in San Antonio
The only player from the home team chosen for the All-Stars was Curry.
How the tournament works
At the Rising Stars one-night competition on Friday, February 14, a fourth team will be selected. In addition to a fourth squad made up of G League players, those games will feature four rosters of seven players apiece, including rookies and second-year players. Warriors power forward/center Trayce Jackson-Davis is the only player from this year’s host Golden State club to represent them in the Rising Stars event.
The four teams participating in the Rising Star competition will advance to the semifinals, where the first team to 40 points wins. The victors of the semifinals will then face the first team to 25 points in the title game. In honor of Candace Parker, that squad will be known as Team Candace, and they will compete in the event on Sunday.
All-Star Sunday’s games will move quickly. The first player to reach 40 points wins the game. The All-Star final, which also goes to 40 points, will pit the two semifinal winners against one another.
Voting format
A weighted algorithm was used to choose the ten players who were referred to as “starters.” 25% of the vote was cast by media panels, 25% by current players, and 50% by fans. These 14 players were selected by NBA head coaches as “reserves.”
However, since there will be 15 different players starting—five from each of the three teams—and just nine players coming off the bench in those semifinal games, the starter and reserve columns won’t mean anything on game night.
Why the change?
After the teams combined to score a record 397 points in the game at Indianapolis last season, 211-186, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has long called for a more competitive All-Star tournament.
94% of the 289 shots that the teams attempted in the game last year were either inside the paint or beyond the 3-point line.
Coaching staffs
Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder will coach one All-Star squad, while Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers will coach another. Two of their assistants, one from each team, will oversee the remaining teams.
The teams with the top records in the Eastern and Western Conferences, Cleveland and Oklahoma City, are sending staffs to the game.
Prize money for the players
For the All-Star Game, there is a $1.8 million prize pool.
The All-Star champion team’s players receive $125,000 apiece, the runners-up receive $50,000 each, and the teams who are ousted in the semifinals receive $25,000 each.
Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.