The 70th NBA All-Star Game will be played in Atlanta and — given the state of the world still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic — the usual festivities will work a little differently this year.
The all-star events will be in one day rather than three days. The Rising Stars game is not being played this year and the All-Star Saturday Night’s competitions are all being crammed into Sunday’s main event, with the dunk contest taking place during half-time of Sunday’s big game. The events starts at 5pm.
All-Star Game rosters
Team LeBron
Starters:
LeBron James
Luka Doncic
Stephen Curry
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Nikola Jokic.
Reserves:
Damian Lillard
Ben Simmons
Chris Paul
Jaylen Brown
Paul George
Domantas Sabonis
Rudy Gobert
Team Durant
Starters:
Kyrie Irving
Joel Embiid
Kawhi Leonard
Bradley Beal
Jayson Tatum
Reserves:
James Harden
Devin Booker
Zion Williamson
Zach LaVine
Julius Randle
Nikola Vucevic
Donovan Mitchell
NBA All-Star Game Format
The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will have the same competitive format as the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
The two All-Star teams will compete to win each quarter for their respective beneficiaries. (More details about the beneficiaries and the awarding of donations are forthcoming.) The fourth quarter will be untimed and the teams will play to a Final Target Score, meaning that the game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of with the clock running out.
Slam Dunk Competition
The dunk contest will be smaller this year with only a three-man field.
The three competitors are Cassius Stanley of the Indiana Pacers (though he’s currently with the Pacers’ G League team), New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin and Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Skills Challenge
The least-heralded event of all the NBA all-star festivities, the skills competition is back once again with what has now become the standard ‘Bigs vs. Smalls’ format.
The six participants this year are Robert Covington, Luka Doncic, Chris Paul, Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Vucevic.
Rising Stars
The two Rising Stars teams (Team USA and Team World) were announced with five Canadians making the cut on the World squad.
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers almost every sport: NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.