NBA All-Star Weekend is often at its best when it doesn’t take everything so seriously. Enter the celebrity game, in which pizza gets ordered from the sidelines and Kevin Hart is a four-time MVP.
Friday’s All-Star cameo clash pulls from both the Olympic podium and “The Bachelorette.” Mustard, a Los Angeles legend on studio boards, now must box out to clear the actual boards. Simu Liu does another side quest before the latest Marvel movie drops. Jeremy Lin brings a “Linsanity” vintage, while Jason Williams adds “White Chocolate” flavor.
It’s a lot of upscale unseriousness, coming together atop the iconic Forum hardwood.
How to watch the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
ESPN is also available on ESPN Unlimited.
The format
For those concerned with stats and stakes, redirect elsewhere. This thing is for fun. As Drew Carey once quipped, “Everything is made up and the points don’t matter.” The celebrity game does keep score, but its audience is more concerned with overall flow and irreverence. To be honest, so are its participants:
Guillermo Rodriguez ordered pizza during the 2023 #NBAAllStar Celebrity Game 😂🍕
The #RufflesCelebGame returns Friday, Feb. 16 at 7pm/et on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/WQa5Ew8gkx
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 11, 2024
The celebrities walk into the Forum on a green carpet. ESPN has a digital-only pregame broadcast called “Hoop Streams,” which stars sideline reporter Vanessa Richardson and former NBA defensive specialist Iman Shumpert. That program starts 30 minutes before the game; it’s live on ESPN’s app, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Come tipoff, Mark Jones cracks jokes in play-by-play coverage, alongside network partners Richard Jefferson and Monica McNutt. At halftime, K-pop group Cortis takes the stage for an abridged set.
One side is coached by Anthony Anderson and a pair of popular basketball trainers, Lethal Shooter and Chris Brickley. The other is coached by the Brothers Antetokounmpo (Giannis, Thanasis and Alex), plus Los Angeles Dodgers mainstay Mookie Betts. The “Greek Freak” himself is on ice for Sunday’s All-Star Game, due to a calf strain.
The contestants
This year’s game casts a wide net. Check out the full field of celebrities below, sorted by discipline and ordered alphabetically.
Music
Mustard’s buoyant, clapping beat work defines a whole era of Los Angeles hip-hop. GloRilla should get the obligatory “Yeah Glo!” upon each made field goal.
Screen
- Rome Flynn, television actor and Daytime Emmy winner.
- Keegan-Michael Key, also known as Hingle McCringleberry.
- Simu Liu, from “The Copenhagen Test” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
- Taylor Frankie Paul, next star of “The Bachelorette.”
- Nicolas Vansteenberghe, one half of the “Love Island” power couple.
- Dylan Wang, TV and film actor from China.
Flynn was the MVP of last year’s game. Liu’s memorable 2023 turn put him in a buddy duo with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Are there any minutes left in the “Avengers” rotation?
NBA
- Shams Charania, NBA news breaker.
- Tacko Fall, former NBA center listed at 7-foot-6.
- Mat Ishbia, Phoenix Suns chairman and governor.
- Jeremy Lin, retired NBA champion and “Linsanity” inducer.
- Rick Schnall, Charlotte Hornets co-chairman and governor.
- Jason Williams, retired NBA champion and “White Chocolate” dimer.
Charania recently reported that Antetokounmpo was in blockbuster trade talks; the Milwaukee Bucks then trolled ESPN’s insider after the trade deadline. A benching feels imminent.
Other sports
- Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver.
- Jenna Bandy, college hooper turned influencer.
- Cafu, retired World Cup soccer captain from Brazil.
- Andre De Grasse, Olympic sprinter from Canada.
- Cody Jones, trick shot extraordinaire from Dude Perfect.
- Adrien Nuñez, another college hooper turned influencer.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions wide receiver.
NFL receivers have rattled rims in past years. DK Metcalf threw down enough nasty dunks for a full hoop mixtape reel.
Celebrity Game MVPs since 2015
2015: Kevin Hart
2016: Win Butler
2017: Brandon Armstrong
2018: Quavo
2019: Famous Los
2020: Common
2022: Alex Toussaint
2023: DK Metcalf
2024: Micah Parsons
2025: Rome Flynn
There was no game in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hart won MVP in 2014, but he passed the trophy to then-U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game is a liminal space unlike any other.
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