A Guide to the Timberwolves’ All-Star Weekend
By Ben Beecken
It’s a full first two-thirds of All-Star Weekend for the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a mix of three players participating in three events.
For the second straight year, the Wolves will not have a participant in the main event on Sunday evening, but for the second straight year, they’ll also have at least three players in the Rising Stars game on Friday and Zach LaVine in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night.
BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge
Friday, 8 p.m. Central, TNT
The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine will represent the Timberwolves in the Rising Stars game on Friday night, a year after Wiggins, LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, and Gorgui Dieng all played — and played well.
Wiggins won the MVP award in the game a year ago, dropping 22 points and leading Team World to a victory over Team U.S.A., for which LaVine scored 22 of his own.
The U.S. roster seems to be significantly better than the World squad this time around, with a rotation including LaVine, Towns, Boston’s Marcus Smart, Orlando’s Elfrid Payton, the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell, and the Suns’ Devin Booker.
Team World will be led by Wiggins, Knicks’ rookie Kristaps Porzingis, and Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay. There are some intriguing players who have not played a ton for their respective teams, such as Orlando’s Mario Hezonja, so it’ll be interesting to see how the coaching staff splits the minutes.
NBA All-Star Saturday Night
Saturday, 7 p.m. Central, TNT
All-Star Saturday Night starts with the Taco Bells Skills Challenge, which will take on a new twist with four point guards and four big men participating, including the Wolves’ Towns.
The guards include Mudiay, Portland’s C.J. McCollum, Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, and the Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson. The big men will be Towns, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, Golden State’s Draymond Green, and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis.
Having Thomas, Cousins, Green, and Davis makes this as star-studded of a lineup as this particular event has ever seen. Towns would seem to be even more fluid with more guard-like skills than the rest of the big men, although it should be fun to see everyone run through the obstacle course.
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The second event is Wolves-less, as it has been since Kevin Love participated a couple of years ago. He was the only Wolf to win the contest when he was victorious back in 2012.
This year’s favorite will be defending champion Stephen Curry, but the field including Warriors teammate Klay Thompson, the Clippers’ J.J. Redick, and others is intriguing to be sure.
The final event is, of course, the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest. LaVine will be defending his best-showing-since-Vince-Carter-in-2000 from a year ago, and he’ll be challenged by Denver’s Will Barton, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon.
It’ll be fun to have a couple more big men involved in the event, as it’s been a few years since we’ve seen a memorable dunk by a non-guard/wing.
That said, LaVine is far and away the favorite, and he teased his upcoming performance on Instagram on Thursday night.
Don’t miss this, Wolves fans. It could be historic.
NBA All-Star Game
Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Central Time, TNT
As mentioned, this game doesn’t have any Timberwolves players participating, but it’s always a fun display. We’ve even been treated to some close games over the past few years, and that’s an added bonus.
We’re likely only a year away from seeing someone in a Wolves’ uniform participating, as Towns and Wiggins should both be in the conversation in the near future.
Next: Top Timberwolves All-Star Weekend Moments
We’ll have recaps of each event from a Wolves fan’s perspective, so keep it tuned to DWW throughout one of the best weekends in an NBA fan’s year!