The rosters and coaches are now out for the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles that’ll air on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Since this year’s events are in Los Angeles, the teams the Clippers and the Lakers.
Team Clippers will be coached by ESPN’s Katie Nolan, former NBA star Paul Pierce and artist Common. Team Lakers will be coached by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady and actor Michael B. Jordan.
Also, one thing that’s new about this Celebrity game is that there will be a 4-point line in the second half. For every deep shot made, Ruffles will donate $4,000 to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The chips brand will give a minimum of $20,000 and a max of $40,000.
Here are the players, and who we’re most excited to watch:
Team Clippers
1. Brandon Armstrong (actor, social media star)
You may know him better as @BdotAdot5. He’s the guy who does all the hilarious NBA impressions, and he’s back. Armstrong was last year’s Celebrity All-Star Game MVP with 16 points and 15 rebounds, and his team crushed their opponents, 88-59.
Last year, he did this, which only he could pull off:
He also hit this shot:
2. Jamie Foxx (actor, singer, musician)
Hopefully Jamie Foxx goes on the court and just constantly does impressions of other NBA players and coaches. He has LeBron James and Doc Rivers down.
3. Jason Williams (NBA champ and current rec-league legend)
Williams fantastically busted out the elbow pass during last-year’s Celebrity game, so you can expect more of that. We’re also excited to see him play because he was sadly injured in the debut of Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 league BIG3 and was unable to play the entire summer like he planned, so it’ll be good to see his skills back out on the court.
4. Win Butler (Arcade Fire)
Butler had 22 points and 11 rebounds in 2017, and he won the MVP award in 2016, with 15 points and 14 rebounds. In other words, he has been on winning teams and had double-doubles in back-to-back years. The Arcade Fire lead singer is definitely a player to watch.
5. Paul Pierce (NBA legend, ESPN analyst)
Pierce’s first Celebrity Game appearance could be interesting. Will he drop a few threes for the fans? Or maybe he’ll go hard 1-on-1 with Tracy McGrady, who’s on the opposing team?
The others on Team Clippers are: Bubba Watson (two-time Masters champion), Anthony Anderson (ABC’s “black-ish”), Miles Brown (ABC’s “black-ish”), Stefanie Dolson (WNBA’s Chicago Sky), Common (actor, recording artist), Andre De Grasse (Olympic sprinter) and Dascha Polanco (actress, activist).
Team Lakers
1. Candace Parker (WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks)
As she told former For The Win editor Adi Joseph last year, Parker has nothing to prove in the Celebrity Game. WNBA players really should be able to compete in the Skills Challenge or perhaps have their own event, but for now, they’ll continue to have fun with the celebrities. Fans in Los Angeles should be giving the WNBA champ lots of love at Staples Center.
2. Nate Robinson (former NBA star)
Robinson has been playing overseas and in the G League since being waived by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2015. He’ll also be on a BIG3 team this year. He has wanted another chance in the NBA or even the NFL, but it hasn’t worked out so far. Robinson could use this game as a way to show off some fancy handles and high-flying jams, and just have a ton of fun.
Plus, he’s a three-time NBA dunk champ, which means he’s extremely familiar with All-Star Weekend.
Rob Schumacher / The Arizona Republic
3. Caleb McLaughlin (Netflix’s Stranger Things)
Let’s all hope he breaks out more dance moves.
4. Tracy McGrady (NBA legend, ESPN analyst)
McGrady also played in this game in 2016, but he struggled a little bit with an airball and a self layup alley-oop. He may be looking for some redemption.
5. Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks co-owner)
Lasry *probably* can’t dunk like Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, but it’s always fun to see what basketball skills owners have. Plus, we can hope for some lighthearted trash talking from All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The others on Team Lakers are: Nick Cannon (actor, recording artist, star of MTV’s Wild’N Out), Terence Crawford (boxer), Rachel DeMita (NBA2KTV host, actress, model), Jerry Ferrara (STARZ’s “Power”), Sterling Brim (MTV’s “Ridiculousness”), Drew Scott (HGTV’s “Property Brothers”) and Kris Wu (actor, singer, music producer).
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