By Jordan Greer, Sporting News
The NBA’s best players are ready for Chicago. Yep, All-Star weekend is finally here.
While some basketball fans will be most intrigued by the new structure of the All-Star Game, there should be plenty of highlights from the Rising Stars Game and Saturday night events prior to the main show. The Skills Challenge, 3-point Contest and Dunk Contest each feature previous winners and worthy challengers hoping to take the trophies back home.
Now that the participants for each event have been revealed, here’s a breakdown of All-Star weekend, including the full TV schedule for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
ALL-STAR 2020: Rosters for Team LeBron, Team Giannis
NBA All-Star schedule 2020
The NBA’s Rising Stars and Celebrity Games kick off All-Star weekend on Friday night.
The primary events will be held on Saturday, with coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET. The 3-point Contest follows the Skills Challenge, and as usual, the Slam Dunk Contest closes out the evening. Each All-Star event will be broadcast live on TNT except for Friday night’s Celebrity Game, which airs on ESPN. In Canada, the All-Star Satuday Night events will be broadcast on SN1 and the All-Star Game will be broadcast on TSN.
Friday, Feb. 14
Time | Event | TV channel |
Noon ET | Rising Stars practice | NBA TV |
5 p.m. ET | Hall of Fame Class of 2020 announcement | NBA TV |
7 p.m. ET | Celebrity Game | ESPN |
9 p.m. ET | Rising Stars Game | TNT |
Saturday, Feb. 15
Time | Event | TV channel |
10:30 a.m. ET | All-Star practice and Media Day | NBA TV |
7 p.m. ET | Adam Silver media availability | NBA TV |
8 p.m. ET | All-Star Saturday Night events (Skills/3-point/Dunk) | TNT (U.S.), SN1 (Canada) |
Sunday, Feb. 16
Time | Event | TV channel |
8 p.m. ET | All-Star Game | TNT (U.S.), TSN (Canada) |
Slam Dunk Contest participants, rules
The 2020 Slam Dunk Contest features four players competing in two rounds. Each player attempts two dunks apiece in the first round, then the two highest scorers advance to the final round. The remaining players then perform two more dunks to determine a winner. Each dunk will be scored on a scale of 6-10 by five judges, allowing for a minimum score of 30 and maximum score of 50.
Here are the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest participants, including 2008 winner Dwight Howard:
Player | Team |
Pat Connaughton | Bucks |
Aaron Gordon | Magic |
Dwight Howard | Lakers |
Derrick Jones Jr. | Heat |
3-point Contest participants, rules
The eight 3-point Contest participants will shoot under a new format this year. The contest includes the typical five locations along the arc with four racks of four regular balls (one point) and one money ball (two points), plus one special rack of five money balls. Players can choose their favorite spots for the money ball racks.
For the 2020 edition, there will also be two “MTN DEW Zones” sitting six feet behind the 3-point line. Each zone holds one green ball worth three points. With the addition of these zones, the NBA has increased the time limit from 60 seconds to 70 seconds and the maximum score from 34 points to 40 points. (You can take a look at the new 3-point Contest layout HERE.)
The contest is separated by two rounds with the three highest-scoring players from the first round advancing to the finals. The player with the highest score in the final round will be crowned the winner.
Here are the 2020 3-point Contest participants, including reigning champion Joe Harris:
Player | Team |
Davis Bertans | Wizards |
Devin Booker* | Suns |
Devonte’ Graham | Hornets |
Joe Harris | Nets |
Buddy Hield | Kings |
Zach LaVine | Bulls |
Damian Lillard* | Trail Blazers |
Duncan Robinson | Heat |
Trae Young | Hawks |
* Booker named injury replacement for Lillard
Skills Challenge participants, rules
The Skills Challenge puts eight players through an obstacle course that tests their dribbling, passing and shooting abilities. Players will compete against each other one-on-one over three rounds. The player that finishes each individual matchup in the fastest time advances to the next round, leading to a one-on-one final round for the Skills Challenge trophy.
Player | Team |
Bam Adebayo | Heat |
Patrick Beverley | Clippers |
Spencer Dinwiddie | Nets |
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander* | Thunder |
Khris Middleton | Bucks |
Derrick Rose* | Pistons |
Domantas Sabonis | Pacers |
Pascal Siakam | Raptors |
Jayson Tatum | Celtics |
* Gilgeous-Alexander named injury replacement for Rose
This article originally appeared in Sporting News.