STARRY®, the official soft drink of the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League, has added Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to its roster of NBA and WNBA talent. Joining a star-studded lineup including A’ja Wilson, Jamal Murray, Zion Williamson, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Myles Turner, Antetokounmpo is set to shine bright for STARRY during NBA All-Star Weekend.
“In addition to being an unstoppable force on the court, Giannis embodies the refreshingly fun spirit of STARRY, bringing unexpected and showstopping moments with him wherever he goes, making him the perfect addition to our roster,” said Michael Smith, senior director of STARRY Brand Marketing.
“STARRY has such a playful attitude like me, so I was definitely game when they asked me to work together on shaking things up,” said Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo stars in the newest STARRY campaign, “It’s Time To See Other Sodas,” alongside Ice Spice, urging fans to choose STARRY over traditional lemon-lime sodas. The campaign will debut during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on February 17, coinciding with the STARRY 3-Point Contest.
Additionally, STARRY will present the STARRY Range at the 3-Point Contest for the second year, and host the “STARRY AR3NA: Presented by Lem & Lime” at NBA Crossover during NBA All-Star 2024. STARRY’s sponsorship of the NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T includes the STARRY FIZZ FEST, adding refreshing experiences for fans throughout the weekend.
In a thrilling showdown at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Team Shannon emerged victorious over Team Stephen A in the 2024 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night. Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys stole the spotlight, earning MVP honors with an impressive 37-point performance.
Before the game, a star-studded lineup graced the red carpet, including notable figures such as Jennifer Hudson, Metta World Peace, Micah Parsons, CJ Stroud, Puka Nacua, Mecole Hardman Jr., AJ McLean, Walker Hayes, SiR, and Anuel AA. The event showcased a dynamic blend of celebrities, athletes, and creators, adding to the excitement of the evening.
The State Farm All-Star Saturday lineup promises thrilling competition as participants for the Kia Skills Challenge, Starry 3-Point Contest, and AT&T Slam Dunk contest are revealed.
In the Kia Skills Challenge, teams will compete in a relay format, showcasing dribbling, passing, and shooting skills. Team Pacers will feature Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, and Myles Turner, while Team Top Picks includes Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards, and Victor Wembanyama. Team All-Stars comprises Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey, and Trae Young.
The Starry 3-Point Contest boasts a stellar lineup with defending champion Damian Lillard leading the charge. Competitors include Trae Young, Lauri Markkanen, Malik Beasley, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
In the AT&T Slam Dunk contest, fans can expect jaw-dropping aerial displays from Jacob Toppin, Mac McClung, Jaylen Brown, and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The night will also have Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu in a one-on-one 3-point challenge.
The State Farm All-Star Saturday is set to electrify basketball fans with a showcase of talent and athleticism on February 17th, 2024.
The NBA has announced an electrifying entertainment roster for NBA All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis, featuring renowned musical acts throughout the week. The youngest female EGOT winner, Jennifer Hudson, will headline the halftime show during the 73rd NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 18, airing on TNT.
Indianapolis native Babyface and Canadian Juno Award-winning singer Charlotte Cardin will deliver stirring renditions of the U.S. and Canadian national anthems, respectively, preceding the All-Star Game.
NBA Crossover, the league’s immersive fan event, will feature three days of performances. The lineup includes Zedd and T-Pain kicking off the NBA Crossover Concert Series on Friday, Feb. 16. On Saturday, Keith Urban, Walker Hayes, and Lil Wayne will take the stage, captivating audiences before the big game on Sunday.
Furthermore, the HBCU Classic presented by AT&T will showcase Coco Jones alongside the Winston Salem State University Red Sea of Sound and Virginia Union University Ambassadors of Sound. The event will also feature performances by The Brothers Footman and Kyra Daniels.
Emmy Award-winning musician Adam Blackstone has been appointed as the Musical Director for NBA All-Star 2024, promising a week of unforgettable entertainment. Tickets for the various events are available at NBAEvents.com and through the NBA Events App.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has selected Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes and Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young as injury replacements for the Eastern Conference team in the upcoming 2024 NBA All-Star Game. They will fill in for Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Julius Randle of the New York Knicks.
Barnes, the 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year, earns his first All-Star nod in his third season, boasting career-high averages of 20.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. He joins Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only players this season with over 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, 250 assists, 50 blocks, and 50 steals.
Meanwhile, Young secures his third All-Star selection in six seasons, boasting impressive stats, including 27.3 points, 10.9 assists, and 1.47 steals per game. He leads the league in total assists and ranks among the top players in multiple categories, solidifying his place as one of the Eastern Conference’s top talents.
NBA All-Star Weekend is almost upon us, taking place on Sunday, February 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The event consists of the usual festivities and competitions, including the Celebrity Game, as well as the 3-Point and Slam Dunk Contests, among others. As the celebrated weekend draws closer, anticipation rises while revealing the starting lineups for the 2023-24 NBA All-Star Game.
The 73rd edition of the All-Star Game sees the NBA returning to the traditional Eastern vs. Western conference format, with two guards and three front-court players in their starting lineups. They previously implemented a draft in 2017 where captains chose players regardless of conference. According to NBA Communications, three voting groups determined the starters: 50% fan votes, 25% NBA players, and 25% media panel. Head coaches chose the reserves for each team. Both conferences are stacked with big names and many of the best players in the league. Today, we are looking at the NBA All-Star starters in the Eastern Conference. Take a look at the players below.
Indiana Pacers player Tyrese Haliburton was unanimously ranked No. 1 in the NBA All-Star voting among fans, players, and media. Last year, the 23-year-old point guard played his first All-Star game as a reserve for the East, also as a top selection. Recently, Haliburton joined John Stockton and Magic Johnson as one of the only NBA players ever to achieve consecutive 20-point and 20-assist games. He also tied former Pacers player Jamaal Tinsley’s record for most assists in a single game. As a starter in this year’s NBA All-Star Game, he will be playing on his home court.
Damian Lillard
This year is Damian Lillard’s eighth selection for the NBA All-Star Game but his first as a starter. The Milwaukee Bucks point guard’s first appearance as an All-Star was back in 2014. That year, he became the first player to participate in all five events in All-Star Weekend. Lillard most recently scored the game-winning shot in last year’s game alongside fellow Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo. When he is not dropping buckets, he is spitting bars as Dame D.O.L.L.A. As a rapper, Damian Lillard has released four studio albums, with his most recent being 2021’s Different On Levels The Lord Allowed.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Like Tyrese Haliburton, Giannis Antetokounmpo was also ranked No. 1 in voting across the board by fans, players, and media for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. This year marks the fourth year for the “Greek Freak” as an All-Star team captain and the eighth consecutive selection overall. The Bucks’ forward will once again lead the Eastern Conference as captain against LeBron James and the Western Conference for the fourth time. He was also awarded Game MVP back in 2021. While each player in the NBA All-Star Western Conference plays for a different team, the Eastern Conference sees Antetokounmpo and Lillard representing the Bucks.
Jayson Tatum
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was named the MVP in last year’s All-Star Game. This year marks his fifth selection as an All-Star, and second as a starter. He currently holds the most points scored in an All-Star game, dropping 55 points in 2023. Additionally, he won the Skills Challenge competition in 2019. Jayson Tatum has led the Celtics to be 35-11 this season so far, currently standing at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Joel Embiid
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will be playing his seventh NBA All-Star Game. Back in 2018, he became the first 76ers player to be selected to start since Allen Iverson. Since then, he has consistently been playing in All-Star games alongside Lillard and Antetokounmpo. The three of them have appeared the most as All-Stars out of this year’s Eastern Conference starters. An integral player to the Philadelphia team’s roster, Embiid and his teammates currently stand at No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, under the Celtics and the Bucks with 29 wins and 15 losses.
Future NBA All-Star games could look a bit different. According to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the league may return to the East vs. West format, abandoning the popular draft pool.
“We’re looking at some potential changes in format in Indianapolis this year,” Silver said on ESPN’s First Take. “Maybe a return to something more traditional in terms of how the teams are presented. We went to sort of this captain and draft notion, but clearly historically it was East vs. West. So that’s maybe something we are looking at.”
The shift in the format follows the belief that the league desires to have All-Stars playing harder and a renewed interest in the game.
Silver added, “I’m always sort of laughing because before the game even starts on Sunday afternoon, people are saying, ‘This is the best ever!’ And I’m like, ‘We’ll, we’ve got this game.’ I’ll take some fault for that because when you’re there this year in Indianapolis, beginning essentially Thursday night and then through Sunday, I think it’s an opportunity for this whole global basketball community to come together. Great legends of the game. Not just the All-Stars, but lots of players. I don’t know how it works in other sports, but we have dozens and dozens of players in the league who choose to come to All Star Weekend for the activities for various events who aren’t even All-Stars. So I think we’ve lost sight a bit that it’s about the game at the end of the day.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is considering a return to the East vs. West format for the All-Star game pic.twitter.com/cmFVbpkrsN
Common appeared in the 2010 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Playing alongside the likes of Mavs owner Mark Cuban and Hall of Famer Becky Hammon, Common iced a pair of free throws late in the game to secure the win for the team coached by Magic Johnson and Drake. The iconic rapper has appeared in a total of eight All-Star Celebrity Games, even being named MVP in 2020. He had a 10/5/5 stat line in his MVP performance.
However, that Celebrity Game prowess game in spite of some harsh words from an NBA legend back in 2010. Speaking with Men’s Health, Common recalled how he ran into Michael Jordan soon after the game. “I just played in the celebrity game and hit the last free throws to seal the game. In this picture, when I greeted him, he told me to stick to rapping. He grounded me in this picture, for sure,” he said. The incident occurred after Jordan had watched Common perform in concert.
Soon after telling his MJ story, Common also revealed that he once considered a career in basketball. However, he reportedly switched his focus to music after suffering an injury in his junior year of high school. While he is undoubtedly a major contributor to modern hip-hop, Common took time to talk about how he valued the major contribution that Nas had made to the genre.
“That’s why we related to when Nas talked about what he talked about on Illmatic. He experienced it, and the way he told it was just beautiful. In ‘One Love,’ he talks to his boy in prison. That’s one of the greatest songs ever written,” Common said in reference to the trip to an abortion clinic that later inspired his song “Retrospect for Life”. It’s not the first time Common has lauded Nas either. “His mentality was on a whole other level, so it just made me start thinking on a different level. Illmatic is one of those things, it was like, okay — and I was probably 20, 21 — that was like life changing for me,” he said on the Bridge Podcast last year.
James Harden has had a great season with the Philadelphia Sixers. The former league MVP has averaged a double-double for his team. Finishing the regular season averaging 21 points and 10 assists per game. However, his performance went unnoticed by fans who voted in the 2023 NBA All-Star game. Harden is a 10x all-star that hadn’t missed the event since 2011-12. So just how did Harden feel about his snub this season? The Sixers star had one word to describe the situation, disrespectful.
“I said it already, disrespectful! Most of the people that understand basketball get my value, but some just get bored with my numbers.” Harden set down to do an interview as this month’s cover athlete of SLAM Magazine. The Sixers guard believes fans just expect greatness from him. Insinuating that his numbers just look average to the casual fan. Whatever the case may be, Harden has a few words for those who don’t believe in him. “Let’s revisit when I win a championship.”
On All-Star snub: “I said it already, disrespectful! Most of the people that understand basketball get my value, but some just get bored with my numbers.”
Harden may have his greatest chance at becoming an NBA champion this season. The Sixers are a strong team as the league heads into the playoffs. Harden has been the perfect teammate for Sixers big man Joel Embiid. Embiid has been all the talk for the MVP award this season. However, Harden has already been there and done that. A fact it seems that many have forgotten. But Harden is ready to show fans that he hasn’t lost a step in his quest for his first ring. His teammate Embiid is also looking for his first appearance in the NBA Finals.
James Harden has done a great job performing in the shadows this season. One has to think Harden’s name hasn’t been mentioned as much due to the success of Embiid. However, his numbers don’t lie. The Sixers have a great duo trending in the right direction for the post-season. Will the Sixers and Harden finally achieve that long-awaited championship? Or will Philly be looking for answers by failing to achieve the ultimate goal? Let us know your thoughts on a Sixers championship run in the comment section below. For the latest NBA news, keep it right here at HNHH.
2 Chainz is a massive basketball fan who goes to as many games as possible. If you know anything about the veteran artist, then you are aware of his basketball prowess. He played ball in college and he was quite good. Although he never made it to the league, he is consistently considered one of the best rapper-hoopers of all time. Moreover, as someone who is from the home of the Atlanta Hawks, he has plenty of opportunities to watch games and relive his basketball past. Furthermore, he has also gotten his son Halo invested in the game.
Already, Halo has shown a ton of interest in the sport. So much so that the 6-year-old is already convinced that he can someday make it to the NBA. Overall, this is a ton of confidence to have. However, you have to love it, and we’re sure with that kind of drive, he will be able to get into the league. As it turns out, Halo already has a favorite player. That player just so happens to be Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Luckily for Halo, his father was at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. Morant was playing in the big game which makes sense when you consider how he has been having a monstrous season. 2 Chainz got to watch Morant from some courtside seats, and in the end, this proximity paid off. In the Instagram post below, you can see 2 Chainz with a signed Morant jersey that he wore during the match. As it turns out, Halo expressly told his dad that he wanted the uniform. 2 Chainz even told Ja this, which turned out to be the right strategy. “I told Ja that Halo asked me to get his jersey after all star game and he was wit it.”
With gifts like these, 2 Chainz is going to be winning father of the year. We’re sure Halo is going to love his new jersey which was part of history. As for whether or not the All-Star Game was any good, well, that is neither here nor there. For Halo, however, it led to a gift that he will always cherish.
, adding refreshing experiences for fans throughout the weekend.
