My Sports

15 February 2019

NBA All-Star Preview, 2019

By Lauren Webb // Sports

The sizzling heat rises as the NBA All-Star 2019 is all set for reaching dedicated fans, who speak more than 40 languages and watch from over 200 countries across the globe. The home of the Charlotte Hornets – Charlotte, North Carolina, also prepares to receive honored guests and true fans in their new arena, Spectrum Center. It’s been a long wait since they hosted the All-Star weekend in 1991. Now, everything is ready to get the show rolling.

Captains of the two All-Star Game 2019 teams, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, gained the most votes from fans (50% of all votes), media (25%), and NBA Players (25%).

Head coaches were chosen from teams who had the most percentage of winning games since the last All-Star game and until February 3, 2019. They also couldn’t be the ones who were the previous year All-Star game coaches. As a result, Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks) will be the coach of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team, and Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets) is going to be the head coach for LeBron’s team.

Here’s how the teams look now that voting’s complete:

Eastern Conference All-Stars:

Player	Team	Role
Starters:
Giannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks	Forward
Kawhi Leonard	Toronto Raptors	Forward
Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers	Center
Kemba Walker	Charlotte Hornets	Guard
Kyrie Irving	Boston Celtics	Guard
Reserves:
Khris Middleton	Milwaukee Bucks	Forward
Blake Griffin	Detroit Pistons	Forward
Nikola Vučević	Orlando Magic	Center
Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	Guard
Ben Simmons	Philadelphia 76ers	Guard
Bradley Beal	Washington Wizards	Guard
Kyle Lowry	Toronto Raptors	Guard
Victor Oladipo (injury)*	Indiana Pacers	Guard
D’Angelo Russell (replaces)	Brooklyn Nets	Guard

* D’Angelo Russell from Brooklyn Nets will replace Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers) due to an injury of the latter.

Western Conference All-Stars:

Player	Team	Role
Starters:
LeBron James	Los Angeles Lakers	Forward
Kevin Durant	Golden State Warriors	Forward
Paul George	Oklahoma City Thunder	Forward
James Harden	Houston Rockets	Guard
Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	Guard
Reserves:
Anthony Davis	New Orleans Pelicans	Forward
LaMarcus Aldridge	San Antonio Spurs	Forward
Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas Mavericks	Forward
Nikola Jokić	Denver Nuggets	Center
Karl-Anthony Towns	Minnesota Timberwolves	Center
Damian Lillard	Portland Trail Blazers	Guard
Klay Thompson	Golden State Warriors	Guard
Russell Westbrook	Oklahoma City Thunder	Guard

The newbies of the NBA All-Star 2019 are getting ready to show what they are made of. Be sure to watch how they will kick ass of the old champions.

First-time NBA All-Stars:

Khris Middleton – forward from Milwaukee Bucks

Ben Simmons – guard-forward from Philadelphia 76ers

Nikola Vučević – center from Orlando Magic

Bradley Beal – guard from Washington Wizards

Blake Griffin – forward from Detroit Pistons

Kyle Lowry – guard from Toronto Raptors

Victor Oladipo – guard from Indiana Pacers

Also, fans will meet and greet special team roster additions, who were chosen by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in honor of their extraordinary achievements as NBA champions. These special ambassadors are Dirk Nowitzki, the forward from Dallas Mavericks, and Dwyane Wade, the guard from Miami Heat.

Weekend Contests:

Who will have more successful shots from five positions behind the 3-point line in only one minute? The maximum score recorded is 34 points, so let’s see who will rock it this time. The list of All-Star participants in the 3-point contest for 2019 is announced!

3-Point Contest participants 2019:

• Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets)
• Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
• Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
• Seth Curry (Portland Trail Blazers)
• Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
• Danny Green (Toronto Raptors)
• Buddy Hield (Sacramento Kings)
• Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets)
• Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)

Sometimes you want your favorite player to win in the Skills Challenge more than even buying cheap essays for the upcoming due date in college (which you are, of course, not ready for). And that we can understand because it’s the big NBA All-Stars 2019 weekend, man! Let’s take a look at the Skills Challenge 2019 participants who will compete this year.

Skills Challenge participants 2019:

• Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers)
• Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
• Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
• Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic)
• Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
• De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)
• Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies)
• Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)

Slam Dunk is virtually the most impressive contest of them all. Only best of the best All-Stars are honored to participate. We surely will be begging for more when these guys show us some fantastic magic tricks with the ball that they can do!

Slam Dunk Contest Participants 2019:

• Miles Bridges (Charlotte Hornets)
• John Collins (Atlanta Hawks)
• Hamidou Diallo (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Dennis Smith Jr. (New York Knicks)

The greatest basketball weekend of the whole year is dangerously close. If you are not the lucky one who bought the tickets, it is not going to be less fun if you stock up with snacks and bring your family and friends together! Because no matter the winter days, it will be HOT as Taco Bell burrito in gentle hands of a six-years old. Have fun!

In: Lauren