SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 17, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah basketball fans will see plenty of familiar faces in town this weekend as the NBA All-Star festivities return to Salt Lake City.
It will be a busy weekend for Utah Jazz sharpshooting big man Lauri Markkanen and former Weber State star Damian Lillard, who will square off in the 3-Point Contest on Saturday night and then play in the All-Star Game at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Vivint Arena.
Markkanen was selected as a reserve but will make his NBA All-Star debut as a starter on either Team LeBron or Team Giannis, replacing New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson, who will miss Sunday’s game with a hamstring strain.
Lillard will be making his seventh appearance in the All-Star Game, which for the first time will feature a draft directly before the game with captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo picking players from the mixed pool of West and East All-Stars.
The NBA has used the team captain format to select All-Star teams the past five years, but rosters previously were set several days before the game.
The 2023 NBA All-Star Game marks the 30th anniversary of the last time the Jazz hosted the midseason celebration.
Karl Malone, who shared the MVP trophy with Jazz teammate John Stockton in the 1993 All-Star Game, also will return to the festivities as a judge in the Slam Dunk contest Saturday night.
Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen, a 7-footer from Finland, has thrived since being traded to the Jazz in the offseason, averaging career-highs in points (24.9), field goal percentage (51.3) and 3-point percentage (41.3).
The Jazz acquired Markkanen from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the blockbuster trade for Donovan Mitchell, who returns to Salt Lake City for his fourth NBA All-Star Game, this time as an East starter.
The Jazz are Markkanen’s third NBA team in his first five seasons. The Bulls used the seventh pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to select the University of Arizona star, who played four seasons in Chicago. He was traded to Cleveland in August 2021.
Markkanen said he was “extremely happy” to be starting in Sunday’s game at Vivint Arena.
“That’s kind of, on a personal level, what you’ve been working for,” he said. “You remember everything you’ve gone through in your journey, and everything happens for a reason. … I was so happy when it happened, but then slowly started thinking of the stuff I had to go through to get here.”
Damian Lillard
Lillard, now in his 11th NBA season, was a two-time Big Sky Conference MVP before foregoing his senior season to join the Portland Trail Blazers as the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Following an injury-riddled 2021-22 season that saw him play in just 29 games, Lillard has bounced back in a big way, averaging career-highs in points (31.4) and field goal percentage (46.7).
“It’s always an honor and a pleasure to be with the best players,” Lillard said. “Never would have thought I’d get to seven. When I got drafted, I wasn’t thinking that. I didn’t think it was impossible, but it was like, seven is a lot, man. I’m honored to be on the side of that, seven All-Stars.”
Skills Challenge
Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton will represent the Utah Jazz in the three-team All-Stars Skills Challenge, the first event of All-Star Saturday Night.
The dribbling, passing and shooting competition features three rounds of skills challenges, with teams attempting to earn the most “challenge points.”
Joining Team Jazz in the event will be Team Antetokounmpo, featuring brothers Giannis, Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo. Giannis and Thanasis both play for the Bucks, while Alex is on Milwaukee’s G League team, the Wisconsin Herd.
A trio of NBA rookies — Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons)
and Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston Rockets) — round out the field.
Jordan Rising Stars
Kessler also will represent the Jazz in the Jordan Rising Stars game at 7 p.m. Friday on a team coached by former Utah All-Star Daron Williams.
The event shines the spotlight on the league’s top young talent in a four-team, three-game tournament featuring rosters comprised of NBA rookies, sophomores and G League players.
Kessler, the No. 22 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, was traded to Utah in the offseason deal that sent All-Star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I’m going to do my best to represent Utah, man,” he told reporters Friday. “I’m excited for the opportunity. I hope I make you all proud.”
Utah Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry also will coach a Rising Stars team.
Celebrity Game
The on-court events tip off with the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at 5 p.m. Friday at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center.
Jazz owner Ryan Smith and minority owner Dwyane Wade, a three-time NBA champion, will serve as honorary captains for rosters that include current and former pro athletes DK Metcalf (Seattle Seahawks), Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions), Albert Pujols (MLB’s Cardinals, Angels and Dodgers), Diamond DeShields (Phoenix Mercury), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) and Frances Tiafoe (tennis).
Other celebrities expected to play include two Grammy Award winners, 21 Savage and Janelle Monáe, along with Grammy-nominated recording artist Cordae, actors Simu Liu, Sinqua Walls and Everett Osborne, Latin music icon and actor Nicky Jam, and reggaeton artist Ozuna.
A complete schedule of NBA All-Star participants and events Friday-Sunday is available here.
