The basketball world will descend on Utah as the Beehive State hosts NBA All-Star Weekend for the first time since 1993.
There will be nine NBA events happening over the three-day basketball extravaganza, which runs from Feb. 17 to Feb. 19.
Here’s a day-by-day breakdown of the NBA events going on in Salt Lake City over All-Star Weekend.
Friday, Feb. 17
NBA Ice Buckets, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. MST, Trolley Square, free.
Fans can shoot on an ice-themed basketball court, featuring five different-sized baskets, for a chance to win NBA prizes, including All-Star tickets. Fans have to register on the NBA Events app to participate.
NBA Crossover, noon-8 p.m. MST, Salt Palace Convention Center, $20 for kids 12 and under, $40 for adults.
NBA Crossover is a “multiday interactive fan event that brings basketball culture to the forefront, featuring player appearances, live performances and unique activities focused on art, music, fashion, technology and entertainment,” according to the league.
All-Star Celebrity Game, 4:30 p.m. MST, Huntsman Center, Ticketmaster Verified resale tickets from $16
The All-Star Celebrity Game pits celebrities against each other in a five-on-five basketball game.
MLB legend Albert Pujols, NFL Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, hip-hop artist 21 Savage and country artist Kane Brown headline the celebrities playing in the game.
Jazz owners Ryan Smith and Dwayne Wade will captain the teams.
Here’s a list of the full participants.
Rising Stars, 7 p.m. MST, Vivint Arena, from $60.
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler will be sharing the floor with projected top-five draft pick Scoot Henderson and some of the NBA’s best rookies and sophomores during All-Star Weekend.
Some key participants in Rising Stars are 2022 No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons), Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers), Jose Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans), Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors) and Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite).
The Rising Stars event will be played in a tournament format, with four teams of seven players each. There will be three games — Team A vs. Team B, Team C vs. Team D and then the championship game between the winner of the two games.
The semifinal games will be played to a 40-point target score, and the championship game will be played to a 25-point target score.
Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry will coach the G League Team and former Jazz guard Deron Williams will coach a team. The final two coaches are Los Angeles Lakers legend Pau Gasol and former Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah.
Saturday, Feb. 18
NBA Ice Buckets, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. MST, Trolley Square, free.
NBA Crossover, noon-8 p.m. MST, Salt Palace Convention Center, $20 for kids 12 and under, $40 for adults.
All-Star Practice, 11 a.m. MST, Huntsman Center, from $50.
The NBA’s All-Stars will practice the day before the All-Star Game at the Huntsman Center. This is a more affordable option to see the league’s stars in person than buying tickets to the All-Star Game or All-Star Saturday Night.
Here’s a video from the 2020 All-Star Game practice to give you an idea of what to expect — half-court shots, running plays and practicing shots, while also goofing around.
Tickets are general admission in one of three areas — upper bowl, lower bowl end and lower bowl sideline.
NBA HBCU Classic, 2 p.m. MST, Huntsman Center, from $10
The most competitive game of the weekend will take place between Grambling State University and Southern University. The two historically Black universities will play a Southwestern Athletic Conference contest at the Huntsman Center.
It’s the only game of All-Star weekend where the result truly matters. Grambling is in second place in the SWAC standings with a 10-3 conference mark (17-8 overall).
Southern is in third place with a 9-4 conference record as of Feb. 14 (13-13 overall),
Tickets are general admission in one of two areas — lower bowl end and lower bowl sideline.
All-Star Saturday Night, 6 p.m. MST, Vivint Arena, from $699.
One of the premier events of All-Star Weekend, All-Star Saturday Night features the skills challenge, 3-point contest and dunk contest.
The slam dunk contest, usually the most-hyped event of Saturday night, doesn’t have the star power of years past.
This year’s contest will feature Houston’s KJ Martin, New Orleans’ Trey Murphy, Philadelphia’s Mac McClung and New York’s Jericho Sims.
The 3-point contest features Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Portland’s Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield, Sacramento’s Kevin Huerter and Miami’s Tyler Herro.
The skills challenge will features three teams — Jazz players Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler will be part of the Jazz’s team at the Skills Challenge and will face off against the Antetokounmpos (Giannis, Thanasis and Alex) and the rookies (Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic, Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons and Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets).
Fans looking to buy tickets can buy them on the NBA Experiences website, where the tickets are bundled in packages. Those packages are the only official tickets sold by the NBA for All-Star Saturday Night and the NBA All-Star Game. The cheapest package is $699 and includes an upper-bowl ticket to All-Star Saturday Night and access to NBA Crossover.
Sunday, Feb. 19
NBA Ice Buckets, noon-5 p.m. MST, Trolley Square, free.
NBA Crossover, noon-8 p.m. MST, Salt Palace Convention Center, $20 for kids 12 and under, $40 for adults.
G League Next Up Game, 1 p.m. MST, Huntsman Center, $15.
The inaugural G League Next Up Game will feature some of the top players from the NBA G League, the developmental league of the NBA. It’s basically the G League’s version of the All-Star Game.
Projected 2023 top-five pick Scoot Henderson, who is on the G League Ignite, is the big draw.
Former Utah State star Neemias Queta, who is a two-way player for the Sacramento Kings and Stockton Kings, will play in the game.
Scotty Pippen Jr., the son of Chicago Bulls legend Scotty Pippen, and Shareef O’Neal, the son of Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal, will also participate.
Frank Jackson gives the game hometown representation. Jackson, who plays for the Salt Lake City Stars, played basketball at Lone Peak High School.
A full list of players can be found here.
Tickets are general admission.
NBA All-Star Game, 6 p.m. MST, Vivint Arena, from $699
The main event will spotlight the NBA’s brightest stars in the 72nd NBA All-Star Game and the Utah Jazz will have representation in the showcase for the fourth year in a row.
Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was selected as an All-Star Game reserve by the NBA’s head coaches.
Markkanen, LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) are the Western Conference starters.
Paul George (LA Clippers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves) De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings) and Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings) are the Western Conference reserves.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Kyrie Irving (now with the Dallas Mavericks) are the Eastern Conference starters.
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Julius Randle (New York Knicks) and Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors) are the Eastern Conference reserves.
The team captains are James and Antetokounmpo. In a new format, the two captains will select their teams in a draft 30 minutes before tip-off. The captains can select any player, regardless of conference, as has been done since 2018.
Fans looking to buy tickets can buy them on the NBA Experiences website, where the tickets are bundled in packages. Those packages are the only official tickets sold by the NBA for All-Star Saturday Night and the NBA All-Star Game. The cheapest package is $699 and includes an upper-bowl ticket to the NBA All-Star Game and access to NBA Crossover.