ESPN and the NBA announced on Wednesday the celebrities who will be suiting up as coaches and players in the 2023 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and team minority owner and three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade will serve as honorary team captains for the game that will be played at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday, Feb. 17, according to the press release.
NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo, his brothers Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo and Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn will coach Smith’s team.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time WNBA champion Lisa Leslie, rapper Fat Joe and two-time World Series champion Alex Bregman will coach Wade’s team.
The team rosters consist of athletes, comedians, actors and Grammy award-winning artists.
Actors include Janelle Monáe and Simu Liu. Monáe starred in “Hidden Figures” and last year’s “Glass Onion.” She is also an eight-time Grammy Award nominee. Liu is best known for his starring role in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
WNBA All-Stars Diamond DeShields and Arike Ogunbowale will represent the WNBA in the game. DeShields won the 2021 WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky.
Smith’s team includes two athletes who have made history in their sports. Former Detroit Lions wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson holds the NFL’s single-season receiving yards record. In September, former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols became the fourth player in MLB history to hit 700 home runs.
Some of the participants have played in the celebrity game in the past, including Kane Brown, Hasan Minhaj, Ranveer Singh and Alex Toussaint, who is the reigning All-Star Celebrity Game MVP.
The game’s star power doesn’t stop there. The “Unlock a Legend” feature will return this year and allow a team to add a legendary NBA player to their roster during the game.
This year will also include a new feature: the “Ruffles Crunch Time.” Smith and Wade will both have the ability to activate this feature, doubling the points scored in a two-minute period, according to the NBA’s press release.
What are the 2023 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game rosters?
Team Ryan
- Kane Brown, country artist and rapper.
- Cordae, rapper.
- Diamond DeShields, WNBA champion and All-Star.
- Calvin Johnson, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Marcos Mion, Brazilian TV host.
- The Miz, WWE Superstar.
- Albert Pujols, former MLB player.
- Everett Osborne, actor.
- Ozuna, rapper.
- Guillermo Rodriguez, correspondent on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
- Sinqua Walls, actor.
Team Dwyane
- Nicky Jam, singer and actor.
- Jesser, YouTuber.
- Simu Liu, actor.
- Hasan Minhaj, comedian.
- DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver.
- Janelle Monáe, actress and singer.
- Arike Ogunbowale, WNBA All-Star.
- 21 Savage, rapper.
- Ranveer Singh, actor.
- Frances Tiafoe, tennis player.
- Alex Toussaint, Peloton coach and Puma athlete.