What to Expect:
The NBA All-Star 2016 Weekend is right around the corner and four Denver Nuggets players will be in attendance.
Danilo Gallinari, Will Barton, Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokić make up the most Nuggets players to participate in the All-Star Weekend in the past 11 years. The last time the Nuggets had nearly one-third of the team partaking in the season’s highest rated NBA event was in 2005, following the time in 2004 when five players attended.
Gallinari is set to be a Basketball Without Borders coach, Barton is in the line-up for the Slam-Dunk Contest, rookies Mudiay and Jokić will be teammates during the Rising Stars Challenge (formerly known as Rookie/Sophomore Game), and Mudiay will also be participating in the Skills Challenge.
The Breakdown
Gallinari:
The No. 6 pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, originally acquired by the New York Knicks and traded to the Nuggets during the 2010-11 season, was selected as a Basketball Without Borders Global Camp mentor. The event is set to take place from Feb. 12-14 at Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto across a three-day span of All-Star Weekend.
The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward has averaged 19.8 points in 47 games this year for the Nuggets. He leads the team in points per game with an average of 19.8 and has a free throw shot percentage of .88. He currently sits in the No. 3 position in all of the NBA with free-throw shots made.
His versatile skillset and his past history as a former Basketball Without Borders attendee during his teenage years make him the perfect role model for the 53 international high school aged boys and girls he will coach.
Basketball Without Borders Global Camp:
Mattamy Athletic Centre
Friday, Feb. 12: 8:00am-2:00pm EST
Saturday, Feb. 13: 8:00am-2:00pm EST
Sunday, Feb. 14: 8:00am-2:00pm EST
Will Barton:
Standing at 6-foot-6 175 pounds, he packs a mean punch, or should we say a mean dunk. With a seemingly effortless 360, a theatrical windmill and an incredibly powerful slam; Barton will make his way to Toronto to showcase his dunk skills center court on Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre.
The University of Memphis alumnus was selected 40th overall by the Portland Trailblazers in the 2012 NBA draft, and made his way to Denver via trade in 2015. In his first season with the Nuggets, Barton is averaging 15.5 points per game, six rebounds, and 2.3 assists: all career highs.
The recently turned 25-year-old has impressed the Nuggets coach, opposing teams, and most of all, himself, this season. With his knack for generating energy on the court and his picturesque-animated dunks, he will no doubt provide fans with the excitement they seek during the All-Star Dunk Contest.
Slam Dunk Contest:
Air Canada Centre
Saturday, Feb. 13: 7:30-10:30pm EST
Mudiay & Jokić
The two youngest players on the Denver Nuggets will be teammates during the Rising Stars Challenge set to commence on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada Centre during the 2016 All-Star Weekend. Emmanuel Mudiay, originally from DR Congo, and Nikola Jokić, a native of Serbia, will play for the World Team alongside nine other NBA rookies. Both Nuggets draftees place in the top 10 for NBA rookie scoring with Mudiay ranked 5th with 11.4 and Jokić set at 9.5 in position 8.
Mudiay was the 7th overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft. The 19-year-old has appeared in 40 games for Denver, averaging 11.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists. At 6-foot-5 and weighing 200 pounds, his ball anticipation and basketball intelligence have proven he deserves the No. 1 position for average assists out of all NBA rookies. He also sits in 2nd place for average minutes per game (30.2), 4th place for steals (1.08), and 8th for blocks (.58).
Mudiay will also be replacing Patrick Beverly in the Skills Challenge Saturday, Feb. 13.
Jokić was selected in the second round (41st overall) in the 2014 NBA draft. The 6-foot-10 Serbian sits at 250 pounds, standing and weighing nearly exactly the same as his Nuggets veteran teammate, Danillo Gallinari. He is currently ranked 5th out of all the rookies for rebounds per game (5.9), 4th for free throw percentage (.78) and 5th for field goal percentage (.526). At 20-years-old (almost 21 on Feb. 19), Jokić has played in 52 games for an average of 20 minutes per game for the Nuggets.
Mudiay and Jokić will play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers, Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers, Rodney Hood of the Jazz, Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks, Elfrid Payton of the Magic and Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics.
Rising Stars Challenge
Air Canada Centre
Friday, Feb. 12: 9:00-11:00pm EST
Skills Competition:
Air Canada Centre
Saturday, Feb. 13: 7:30-10:30pm EST