So, maybe you’re a Utahn who’s not a diehard Utah Jazz fan. You don’t really enjoy basketball, let alone follow the NBA religiously.
You’re probably still aware that the league’s All-Star Weekend has come to Salt Lake City, though. And maybe you’d like to be conversant about it with people around you, but don’t really know where to start.
I’m here to help!
A lot has changed since the All-Star Game was last here 30 years ago — including its transformation from fun basketball event to sprawling, corporate monolith. I won’t bother with most of that, but can at least get you up to speed on some of the basics of the weekend’s biggest events so you can hold your own at the water cooler and the dinner table.
Rising Stars tournament
This is basically a way to showcase some of the NBA’s best young players — guys not necessarily on an All-Star level yet but who, in their first or second seasons, have distinguished themselves as at least good role players, if not more.
This event initially debuted in 1994, and has gone through several iterations in recent seasons. It used to be just a single game pitting a team of rookies against a team of second-year players. Then it became a team of rookies and sophomores from the United States going up against a team of rookies/sophs from other countries.
Now, it’s expanded a bit. There are four teams of seven players apiece that will play a mini-tournament. One team (to be coached by Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry) will be made up of seven players from the G League (basically, the NBA’s minor league). There were 21 NBA players in either their first or second seasons who were drafted onto teams to be coached by former NBA players Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, and ex-Jazz point guard Deron Williams.
Utah Jazz rookie center Walker Kessler was selected to play in the tournament, and was drafted by Williams.
There will be two opening-round games, in which teams play to 50 points. The two teams who win those matchups will then face off in a championship game, and the first team to get to 25 points is the winner.
This tournament takes place Friday at 7 p.m. at Vivint Arena. It will be broadcast by TNT.
All-Star Saturday Night
There are three events that make up “All-Star Saturday Night” — the Skills Challenge, the 3-Point Contest, and the Slam Dunk contest.
The Skills Challenge has also changed a bit. It used to be an elimination-style tournament of individual players facing each other in a timed competition that entailed such “skills” as dribbling through very widely spaced impediments, chest-passing a ball cleanly through a vertical hoop, then sprinting down the court and being the first to make a 3-pointer.
Last year, the competition changed to having three teams of three players take part in a shooting competition, a timed relay event resembling the old Skills Challenge, and then, finally, making a halfcourt shot.
This year, the Jazz roster will feature one of the three trios, as Kessler will team up with Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton. They will take on the Antetokounmpo brothers (Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex), and a trio of NBA rookies (Paolo Banchero of the Magic, Jaden Ivey of the Pistons, and Jabari Smith Jr. of the Rockets). Mike Conley had been primed to take part in the competition before being traded to the Timberwolves last week.
The 3-Point Contest is basically the same as it was back in ‘93 — five racks of five basketballs stationed around the arc, with a 1-minute time limit. 20 of the shots count for 1 point, five of them — the so-called “money balls” — count for two points apiece.
It starts with eight players, and the three highest totals move on to the championship. Those three players then shoot again, and whoever has the highest score in the championship round only is the winner.
The only real difference between the event then and now? Then, there was one “money ball” on every rack; now, each player gets to choose one rack entirely comprised of “money balls.”
The Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen will participate in the 3-Point Contest. Other participants include the Blazers’ Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons, the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, the Kings’ Kevin Heurter, and the Heat’s Tyler Herro.
The evening ends with the Slam Dunk competition. It begins with four players who have to make two dunks apiece. Athleticism, creativity, and ingenuity are valued, with a panel of five “judges” (almost always former NBA players) rating every dunk on a scale of 6 (so, a cumulative score of 30) to 10 (cumulative score of 50). The two players with the highest total score after two dunks then face off in a championship round, where the same format applies.
Players get three chances to make each dunk; if they can’t make it by the third try, they get a default score of 30.
New Jazz player Juan Toscano-Anderson, just acquired last week at the trade deadline, was the Slam Dunk contest runner-up last year.
This year’s competitors are Kenyon Martin Jr. (Rockets), Trey Murphy III (Pelicans), Jericho Sims (Knicks), and Mac McClung (Delaware Blue Coats, G League).
Events get underway Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT. Once again, TNT has the broadcast.
All-Star Game
There are some similarities to the way things were back in ‘93, but also some big differences.
At its core, the All-Star Game remains two teams of 12 players apiece, chosen from the Eastern and Western Conferences. They play four quarters, and the winner is the team with the most points at the end.
That’s where the similarities stop, though.
To begin with, it’s not East vs. West, anymore. The player in each conference to get the most votes (the Lakers’ LeBron James in the West, the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo in the East) get to serve as team captains and draft their rosters, irrespective of traditional conference affiliation.
The past few years, the team captains did a draft of the All-Star players a few days ahead of the game. This time, they’re doing the draft an hour before tipoff. So no one knows who their teammates will be until just before the game.
As for the game itself, it’s mostly played by normal NBA rules (defensive effort notwithstanding) with a few notable tweaks.
The teams will be playing for local charities — Raise the Future for Team Giannis, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah for Team LeBron. At the end of each quarter, $100K will go to the charity affiliated with the team that scored more points in that period, while $50K will go the other team. An additional bonus will go to the charity of the team that wins the game.
Speaking of winning the game …
While the teams do play four quarters, only the first three are playing with the traditional 12-minute clock. The fourth quarter sees the game clock turned off and the teams utilize the so-called “Elam Ending,” wherein they play to a “target score” — basically, the leading team’s total score after the first three quarters, plus 24 more points.
So, for example, if Team LeBron is leading Team Giannis 100-95 after three quarters, the “target score” would be 124, and the first team to reach or surpass 124 wins the game.
Why do they do this? Games had turned into zero-defense free-for-alls, and the NBA was looking for ways to make the game more competitive. It’s worked. The intensity levels definitely ratchet up in the fourth periods now.
The Jazz’s Markkanen was originally selected as a bench player for this All-Star Game, but due to some injuries, he’ll now start the game.
The All-Star Game takes place on Sunday evening. The draft will happen at 5:30 p.m. MT, and the game will tip off at 6:30. Both will be shown on TNT.
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