Everything you need to know about the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend

Weekend plans? Confirmed. The NBA’s All-Star Weekend (ASW) kicks off this Friday, February 17th, in Salt Lake City, Utah. After Friday’s Rising Stars showcase and the always-entertaining NBA All-Star Saturday night (including the skills, three-point, and dunk competitions), the All-Star Game (ASG) everyone’s been waiting for tips off on Sunday.

The action begins with Friday night’s Jordan Rising Stars showcase at 9 p.m. ET, on Sportsnet. Twenty-eight rookies, sophomores and G League athletes will compete in a three-game mini tournament, coached by icons Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Deron Williams and Jason Terry.

• Resident Canadians Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard of the Indiana Pacers will both be making their rookie debut at ASW.

Then it’s time for the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, featuring the Skills Challenge, the Starry 3-Point Contest and the AT&T Slam Dunk contest. While we can’t reveal who’s participating just yet, we can promise jaw-dropping talent. Don’t miss a moment, starting at 8 p.m. ET on Sportsnet One.

After all that fun, it’s time for Sunday’s main course: the All-Star Game at 8 p.m. ET, on TSN4. This year’s 24 All-Stars were selected through a combination of fan, player, coach and media voting. The All-Stars are also broken up into 10 starters and 14 reserves.

• Of those starters, two captains were selected: Giannis Antetokounmpo (pronounced YAHN-iss ah-dedo-KOON-bo) repping the East and LeBron James helming the West.

• As captains, LeBron and Giannis will take turns drafting from the pool of the remaining 22 players right before the game. First, they select from the eight starters, and then from the 14 reserves. It’s important to note that conference affiliation does not matter during the draft process.

Most notably, the ASG isn’t like a regular NBA game. Yes, they play four quarters; however, a “target score” comes into play in the fourth quarter.

Each team will compete to win each of the three first quarters, all of which last 12 minutes and start with a 0–0 score. At the beginning of the fourth, there is no game clock, and the teams play until one reaches the Final Target Score.

• The Final Target Score is set by taking the leading team’s total cumulative score and adding 24 points (representing the late Kobe Bryant’s jersey number that he wore in the final 10 seasons of his NBA career).

• For example, if the cumulative score is 130–100 heading into the fourth quarter, the first team to get to 154 points will win the game.

Each team plays for a charity of their choice. Team LeBron is supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah, while Team Giannis is playing for Raise the Future. Giving back never looked so good.

Finally, we have to talk about the key players to watch. This is LeBron’s 19th All-Star appearance. In fact, he’s tied with Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most selections ever. Feels…familiar. This is LeBron’s sixth straight year as captain and his All-Star teams are undefeated when he’s in charge. *Gulps in Greek*

• Speaking of Greece, Giannis won’t be easily intimidated. The seven-time All-Star was named captain in 2019 and 2020, and while his teams may not have beaten LeBron’s, they came pretty close.

• Unfortunately, it looks like at least two All-Stars won’t be making it to the court this year. Golden State Warriors’ nine-time All-Star Steph Curry is out indefinitely with partial ligament tears in his leg, and now–Phoenix Sun and 13-time All-Star Kevin Durant will miss his third-straight ASG, while recovering from a knee injury.

• But there’s still plenty to cheer for, including Canada’s very own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Oklahoma City Thunder star will be making his first ASG appearance after being named a Rising Star in 2019 and 2020. Now that’s growth.

And that’s the gist of it! Don’t miss a minute of this fun-filled, star-studded weekend.