The time of the year has come again when the NBA has its annual All-Star weekend. This year marks the 66th time that NBA all-stars from each conference team up and faces each other in a showcase of basketball talent unlike any other. Aside from the main event of the weekend, the NBA also has many other festivities lined up for the three-day event.
The NBA All-Star Weekend will be held on the 17th to the 19th of this month in New Orleans, the third time the event will be held here. The first day showcases the brightest young stars of the NBA in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge. This event pits the top American rookie and sophomore players against the top International rookie and sophomore players for the third consecutive year.
The U.S. Team, which defeated the World Team last year, will feature players such as Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Karl Anthony-Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Brandon Ingram (Los Angeles Lakers). The World Team will be made of Cameroonian center Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Serbian center Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), and Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis (New York Knicks) among other international stars.
In the second day of the All-Star Weekend, individual contests will be held such as the Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest, and the highly anticipated Slam Dunk Contest. In a report by SB Nation, the Skills Challenge will feature four frontcourts and four back court, players go through a course that tests their dribbling, passing and shooting skills with the fastest completion time being the winner. Hometown favorite Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans will be one of the participants for the event.
The Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest are the most popular individual events for the All-Star weekend. Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors looks to defend his title against seven other elite shooters such as Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) and C.J. Mccollum (Portland Trail Blazers). In the Dunk Contest, last year's runner-up, Aaron Gordon, will not get a chance to battle Zach LaVine as LaVine is out with an injury and will not participate. DeAndre Jordan, Glenn Robinson III, and Derrick Jones Jr. make up the rest of the Slam Dunk Contest participants but according to Bleacher Report, Gordon is the heavy favorite to win.
The main event of the weekend happens on the last day as all-stars from each conference team up and face each other in a 48-minute basketball game. The 66th All-Star Game features some of the biggest names in the NBA today such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kawhi Leonard. The starters were selected based on votes by the fans, media and the players themselves while the reserves for each team were selected by the coaches.
The NBA describes this event as a global celebration of the game of basketball as it will reach millions of fans in over 200 countries and will be broadcast in over 40 different languages. For basketball fans around the world, this highly anticipated three-day event will surely be something to remember.
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