The NBA All-Star festivities will officially commence this coming weekend, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be represented by Anthony Edwards, making his first career All-Star appearance.
Edwards’ first selection to All-Star weekend comes in the midst of a season where the young stud is making the proverbial third-year jump that many stars see in their careers. Ant is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage.
Putting up 24.7 points and dishing out 4.5 assists per contest while shooting 47% as Minnesota’s number one scoring option, Edwards has been a clear All-Star level player all season to those paying attention. Timberwolves fans will want to tune in and see their franchise star display his talents on a national stage.
NBA All-Star schedule: Date, start time, TV channel
The NBA All-Star Game will be played in Salt Lake City, Utah on Sunday, February 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on TNT.
NBA All-Star lineups:
LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named the captains for the 2023 All-Star Game. As has been the tradition since 2018, the two captains will select the players they want on their team. However, this year, LeBron and Giannis will be making their picks immediately before tip-off, rather than weeks in advance.
The original All-Star starters were slated to be LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Zion Williamson, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic from the West, along with Giannis Antetokoumpo, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and Kyrie Irving from the East. Due to injuries, Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, and Lauri Markkanen were bumped up into the starting lineups.
Bam Adebayo, Jaylen Brown, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Jaren Jackson Jr., Damian Lillard, Julius Randle, and Domantas Sabonis were named the All-Star reserves, along with Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, and Pascal Siakam as injury replacements.
NBA Slam Dunk Contest participants:
The Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III was the most recent addition to the Slam Dunk Contest participants, joining Houston’s KJ Martin, Philadelphia’s Mac McClung, and New York’s Jericho Sims. The Blazers’ Shaedon Sharpe recently dropped out of the event.
The Slam Dunk Contest is scheduled for Saturday, February 18 at 9:00 p.m. CT.
NBA 3-point Contest participants:
The eight players taking part in the 2023 Three-Point Contest are Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Tyler Herro, Lauri Markkanen, Buddy Hield, Anfernee Simons, Kevin Huerter, and Jayson Tatum.
Anthony Edwards had stated that he wanted to partake in the challenge if he was named an All-Star, but the NBA did not extend an invitation to him after his selection.
NBA All-Star Skills Challenge participants:
Three rookies will participate in the Skills Challenge: Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, and Jabari Smith. Other participants include Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, and three Antetokounmpo brothers: Giannis, Alex, and Thanasis.
NBA Rising Stars Challenge rosters:
The teams for the Rising Stars Challenge were picked by the four coaches last week. There are no Timberwolves players participating in the event. Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels played in the Rising Stars game last season, but both have aged out of eligibility now.