NBA All-Star weekend: What time is the game? What's new?

NBA All-Star weekend: What time is the game? What’s new?

Posted by author February 13, 2025 NBA

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Lakers forward LeBron James (23) is making his 21st All-Star game appearance while James Harden will play in his 11th. (Associated Press)

The 74th NBA All-Star Game will take place Sunday in San Francisco. Each year there are new twists to the game and activities during the three-day celebration of the best basketball players in the world. This year is no exception.

Here’s what you need to know:

All-Star Game

When: Sunday, 5 p.m. (TNT)

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco

For the first time the All-Star Game will become a three-game tournament between four teams in an effort to make the event more competitive. There will be three teams of eight NBA All-Stars and the winner of the Rising Stars tournament for first- and second-year players. The three All-Star teams were drafted by TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. The Rising Stars champion will be managed by fellow TNT analyst Candace Parker. Coaches will come from the staffs of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers.

In each game, the first team to reach or surpass 40 points will be the winner. There is a prize pool of $1.8 million, with each player on the championship team receiving $125,000, each player on the runner-up receiving $50,000 and each player on the the other two teams receiving $25,000.

Here are the three All-Star teams (with draft position):

Team Shaq

LeBron James, Lakers (1); Stephen Curry, Golden State (5); Anthony Davis, Dallas (9); Jayson Tatum, Boston (10); Kevin Durant, Phoenix (14); Damian Lillard, Milwaukee (18); James Harden, Clippers (19); Jaylen Brown, Boston (24); Kyrie Irving, Dallas (injury replacement for Davis).

Team Kenny

Anthony Edwards, Minnesota (2); Jalen Brunson, New York (6); Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis (7); Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City (11); Darius Garland, Cleveland (15); Evan Mobley, Cleveland (16); Cade Cunningham, Detroit (20); Tyler Herro, Miami (23).

Team Charles

Nikola Jokic, Denver (3); Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee (4); Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City (8); Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio (12); Pascal Siakam, Indiana (13); Alperen Sengun, Houston (17); Karl-Anthony Towns, New York (21); Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland (22); Trae Young, Atlanta (injury replacement for Antetokounmpo).

Showing their skills

When: Saturday, 5 p.m.

Where: Chase Center

The slam dunk contest, with a two-round format featuring four contestants, will cap Saturday night’s festivities. Each player is given 90 seconds to complete two dunks — with three attempts per dunk — for a four-judge panel. At the end of their time, they’ll be given one last attempt. The top two scorers advance to the final under the same format. Fans can score each dunk via the NBA ID app. In case of a tie, fan voting will be the tiebreaker. Competitors: Two-time defending champion Mac McClung (G League), Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls), Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs) and Andre Jackson Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks).

The skills challenge, featuring four two-player teams, and three-point contest, featuring eight participants, take place before the slam dunk contest.

The skills challenge focuses on dribbling, passing and shooting. Points will be awarded based on finishes in each competition. Competing are Team Cavs (Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, Cleveland); Team Rooks (Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta, and Alex Sarr, Washington); Team Spurs (Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio); and Team Warriors (Draymond Green and Moses Moody, Golden State).

The three-point contest features five racks of five balls, four of them containing one “money ball” worth two points instead of one, and one rack of five money balls positioned at the player’s choice. There are also two “Starry ball” pedestals behind the third rack, to the left and right, worth three points. The top three shooters advance to the final round. Competitors: two-time defending champion Damian Lillard, Milwaukee; Jalen Brunson, New York; Cade Cunningham, Detroit; Darius Garland, Cleveland; Tyler Herro, Miami; Buddy Hield, Sacramento; Cam Johnson, Brooklyn; Norman Powell, Clippers.

Rising Stars tournament

When: 6 p.m. Friday

Where: Chase Center

The three-game tournament begins with semifinals at 6:15 and 6:55 p.m., with the championship game at 7:35 p.m. The first team to score or surpass 40 points will be the winner in the semifinals, while the final will be played to 25 points. The champion advances the the All-Star Game tournament on Sunday.

The teams will have honorary coaches from the Warriors’ “Run TMC” days — Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin — for the NBA squad plus former NBA player Jeremy Lin for the G League club. Here are the teams:

Team M

Amen Thompson, Houston; Ausur Thompson, Detroit; Bilal Coulibaly, Washington; Scoot Henderson, Portland; Toumani Camara, Portland; Yves Missi, New Orleans; Bub Carrington, Washington.

Team T

Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami; Gradey Dick, Toronto; Anthony Black, Orlando; Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta; Alex Sarr, Washington; Tristan da Silva, Orlando; Brandon Podziemski, Golden State.

Team C

Stephon Castle, San Antonio; Dalton Knecht, Lakers; Jaylen Wells, Memphis; Keyonte George, Utah; Zach Edey, Memphis; Trayce Jackson-Davis, Golden State; Ryan Dunn, Phoenix.

Team J

JD Davison, Boston; Dink Pate, Mexico City; Mac McClung, Orlando; Reed Sheppard, Houston; Bryce McGowen, Portland; Pat Spencer, Golden State; Leonard Miller, Minnesota.

Up Next

When: 12:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Moscone Center

The G League Up Next game will feature four teams of seven players. It’s a three-game tournament, similar to the Rising Stars and All-Star contests. The first team to 30 points will be the winner in each game.