The NBA’s All-Star weekend is in full swing as fans were treated to shows on Friday and Saturday night that drew mixed reviews. Mac McClung won his third straight dunk contest, jumping over a car on his way to victory. Tyler Herro held off Buddy Hield to win the 3-point contest in dramatic fashion.
The Cavaliers’ duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley won a controversial Skills Challenge that actually saw Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama disqualified. Nuggets fans even saw Julian Strawther out there competing in the Rising Stars event on Friday night.
But the real main event with the world’s biggest basketball stars takes place on Sunday evening. Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the NBA All-Star Game?
The games will get underway at 6:20 PM MT as the first game of the new All-Star tournament will take place featuring Team Kenny and Team Chuck - which features Nikola Jokic. The next game, featuring Team Shaq and Team Candace is scheduled to get underway at 9:10 PM MT, and the final is slated for 10 PM MT.
Where is the NBA All-Star Game?
The game is being played in Chase Center in San Francisco, California, home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
How to watch the NBA All-Star Game?
The game can be seen live on TNT, TBS, and TruTV as well as streamed on any of those channel’s apps or the MAX app.
What to expect from Nikola Jokic
This is All-Star game number seven for Jokic, but historically, he hasn’t exactly put forth his best effort. Jokic has almost made a point of not trying in these games and fans shouldn’t expect that to change this season.
There is some shred of hope that the new All-Star format will breed more competitive basketball with shorter games, target scores, and an elimination tournament. Jokic also plays for a team that may have some global pride as they’ve been dubbed the international team, led by Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Wemby, and others.
But at the end of the day, this is still nothing more than an exhibition for fans. Jokic should go out there, make some plays, and then get some rest and turn things over to his younger teammates.
The Nuggets have a critical stretch run coming up that will hopefully result in a long playoff run as well. It’s a great honor to be named an All-Star for a seventh straight season, but Jokic needs to avoid putting even a single extra mile on his tires if it’s at all avoidable.