The 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend is set to take place in the French haven Of America, New Orleans from February 17th-19th. Over the years, we have seen a range of thrilling displays by the best basketball players in the world. Michael Jordan’s dunk from the free-throw line, to Blake Griffin dunk over a car, and also Steph Curry’s record breaking three point contest score.
The order of events for this year’s All star weekend kicks off with the celebrity game on Friday February 17th, with “Hall Of Famer” Kevin Hart certain to bring his talents to Nola for another legendary game with his celebrity teammates. The next main event is the rising stars which occurs a couple hours after. This game is usually one the NBA coaches pay a lot of attention to as it’s a mild showcase of the best players of the 2015 and 2016 draft playing competitively. As the NBA now has taken a shift upwards in the recruitment of international players, so has the All-Star game; The teams are now split up into Team World(Home) and Team USA(Away). Karl-Anthony Towns is a front-runner to headline this game going against Joel Embiid from Cameroon, and front runner for rookie of the year.
The following day, bright and early at 11 am Saturday will be the Hall of Fame announcement. This year the candidates feature names such as Muggsy Bogues, Maurice Cheeks, Tim Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace. Also on Saturday is the D-League all star game and full media access to Commissioner Adam Silver. Saturday Night has array of events commencing with the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, which tests the ability of the selected players shooting, passing and handling skills. Immediately after is the fan – favorite three point shootout. With this competition, NBA enthusiasts are presented a chance to watch the 8 best three – point shooters rack up as many field goals as possible in a given time. The participants have not been announced however my picks are Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Ryan Anderson, CJ McCollum, Eric Gordon, Isiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry, Trevor Ariza.
For the Dunk Contest which concludes the night, I expect to see Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Victor Oladipo, Karl Anthony- Townes showcasing their meanest strengths and providing a thrilling competition as seen over the years.
The All Star finale, concludes the weekend with the best players from the Western and Eastern Conferences playing fairly competitively against each other is always a spectacle for the fans. The starting line up’s will be announced later today, however I will provide my picks. Western Conference: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia, and Kawhi Leonard as starters. Reserves: Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, and DeMarcus Cousins. Eastern Conference: Kyrie Irving, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid. Reserves: DeMar DeRozan, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George.
One key note seen in past seasons, is after the conclusion of the All- Star break, players fully rested tend to get rejuvenated for the final hurdle of about 25 games before the playoffs. Looking ahead, I expect another Warriors- Cavs final rematch in June, however, the Warriors will have to face the improved Rockets, and the most playoff experienced team, Spurs before meeting their LeBron-led rivals. For the Cavs, in the weaker Eastern Conference, I only expect the Celtics to challenge them in the conference finals which might end in 6 games.
All Star Weekend has a hype unmatched by the pro bowl or any other exhibition game from other sports and this year should be no different. New Orleans will definitely bring their A game to one up the amazing show put on by Toronto last year and with Mardi Gras coming up shortly after, the partying will be sure to hit the ground running guaranteeing a good time.