Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis
The memory of the late Kobe Bryant will be in the air at Sunday's All-Star Game when Team LeBron faces Team Giannis in Chicago. Each player on Team Giannis will wear No. 24 - one of two numbers Bryant wore during his stellar career - while players on Team LeBron will wear No. 2, the number worn by Gianna Bryant in her youth basketball games.
Kobe, Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 in Calabasas, Calif., and each player will wear a jersey patch with nine stars to remember all of the victims. There is a reshaped game format that also includes Bryant's number as 24 points will be added to the score of the team in the lead after three quarters to come up with a target score to win the game. For example, if the team in the lead has 110 points, then the first team to reach 134 in an untimed fourth quarter - 110 plus 24 - will be the winner of the game. "We spent a lot of time considering the right target number to use for the fourth quarter," said Byron Spruell, the NBA's president for league operations. "Through the events it became clear to us that the only appropriate number for this season's All-Star game is 24."
TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: TNT, TSN1/4
ABOUT TEAM LEBRON: Captain LeBron James is participating in his 18th All-Star Game and he selected Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis to play up front with forward Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) and guards James Harden (Houston Rockets) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) rounding out the starting five. Lakers coach Frank Vogel is running a team that has big-time experience on the bench in point guards Chris Paul (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets) while also having first-time All-Stars such as Doncic and forward Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics). "Gonna be genius coaching in All-Star Weekend," Vogel told reporters with a chuckle. "Go try hard. They're not gonna try hard, so if we try hard we have a good chance to win."
ABOUT TEAM GIANNIS: Guards Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), center Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) and fellow forward Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors) will join captain Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) in the starting lineup and the reserves include former Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and Khris Middleton, a Milwaukee teammate of the reigning NBA MVP. "At the end of the day, you cannot go wrong," Antetokounmpo told reporters of his draft haul. "They're all great players, all great guys, and hopefully we can all have fun this weekend." Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors will be coach of a group that includes six first-time All-Stars in Young, Siakam, big man Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), forward Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), and guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. In last season's game, Kevin Durant scored 31 points to claim MVP honors as Team LeBron recorded a 178-164 victory over Team Giannis in Charlotte, N.C.
2. Damian Lillard (groin) of the Portland Trail Blazers pulled out of the contest for Team LeBron and was replaced by fellow G Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.
3. As part of the new format, each of the first three quarters will begin with a score of 0-0 as the teams play for Chicago-area charities.