Kevin Durant, LeBron James break down their squads for All-Star Game.
CLEVELAND – NBA All-Star 2022 will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in a record 60 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets, culminating with the 71st NBA All-Star Game when Team Durant faces Team LeBron on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. TNT and ESPN Radio will air the NBA All-Star Game live in the United States at 8 p.m. ET.
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will also host Clorox Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 18 and State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night (which features the AT&T Slam Dunk, MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest and Taco Bell® Skills Challenge) on Saturday, Feb. 19. The Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Feb. 18, the NBA All-Star Practice presented by AT&T and the NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T on Feb. 19, and the NBA G League Next Gem Game on Feb. 20 will take place at the Wolstein Center.
Below are some numbers and tidbits pertaining to NBA All-Star 2022.
NBA All-Star Game
4 – A record four former NBA G League players are NBA All-Stars this season: Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks), Dejounte Murray (San Antonio Spurs) and Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors).
6 – Six members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team are on All-Star rosters: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), James Harden (Philadelphia 76ers), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns).
8/24 – The Kobe Bryant Trophy, which will be awarded to the Kia NBA All-Star MVP, features an eight-sided base representing the eight decades of All-Star Games and is a nod to Bryant’s No. 8 jersey number. The 24 stars on the first level represent the All-Stars in the game and Bryant’s No. 24jersey number. The trophy headlines the lineup of reimagined NBA All-Star hardware, designed in partnership with artist Victor Solomon, that will be presented during NBA All-Star 2022.
16 – Giannis Antetokounmpo made all 16 of his field goal attempts as the Kia NBA All-Star MVP of the 2021 All-Star Game, setting the record for most field goals without a miss in the All-Star Game.
18 – LeBron James is set to play in his 18th All-Star Game, which will tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA record, and make his record 18th All-Star Game start (every season since 2004-05).
20 – At 20 years old, LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets) is set to become the fourth-youngest player to play in the All-Star Game.
22 – This year’s NBA All-Star rings, which are awarded to players in recognition of their selection to the game, feature 22 stars and diamonds in reference to NBA All-Star 2022.
24 – The winner of the All-Star Game will be the first team to reach (or surpass) the Final Target Score, which will be the leading team’s total score after the first three quarters plus 24 points. For example, if the leading team has 100 points after the first three quarters, the Final Target Score will be 124 (100 + 24).
128 – Chris Paul has the most assists in All-Star Game history with 128 (which is one more than Magic Johnson).
750,000 – A total of $750,000 will be awarded to two beneficiaries through the All-Star Game, with Team Durant playing for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Team LeBron playing for the Kent State I Promise Scholars Program.
NBA All-Star History in Cleveland
1 – Michael Jordan recorded the first triple-double in NBA All-Star Game history when he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland.
9 – Nate “Tiny” Archibald had nine points and nine assists as the MVP of the 1981 All-Star Game in Richfield, Ohio.
18 – Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star 1997.
20 – Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets scored 20 points in the third quarter to lead the Eastern Conference to a 132-120 victory over the Western Conference in the 1997 All-Star Game, now tied for the most points scored by a player in a quarter in All-Star Game history.
35/50/75 – The Cleveland area has hosted NBA All-Star when the league celebrated its 35th season (1981), 50th anniversary (1997) and 75thanniversary (2022), marking its three times as All-Star host.
50 – The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, as announced in 1996, were honored at halftime of the 1997 All-Star Game. Each of those players was recently named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, a group of 76 players who will be honored at the 2022 All-Star Game.
Clorox Rising Stars
4 – Under a new format for Clorox Rising Stars, four teams of seven players will compete in a mini-tournament consisting of three games.
6 – Six elite young players from NBA G League Ignite will compete across the Clorox Rising Stars and Clorox Clutch Challenge shooting competition on Feb. 18: MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Michael Foster Jr., Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson and Fanbo Zeng.
36 – Rising Stars honorary coaches and NBA 75th Anniversary Team selections Rick Barry (8), Gary Payton (9), Isiah Thomas (12) and James Worthy (7) combined for 36 NBA All-Star selections.
AT&T Slam Dunk
1 – A first-time champion will be crowned in AT&T Slam Dunk. Cole Anthony (Orlando Magic), Jalen Green (Houston Rockets) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (Golden State Warriors) are set to make their event debuts, and Obi Toppin (New York Knicks) returns for his second appearance after finishing as the runner-up last year.
30 – In addition to the live presentation of AT&T Slam Dunk by TNT and ESPN Radio on Feb. 19, Cartoon Network will air a special 30-minute, superpowered Teen Titans Go! edition of the contest on Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. ET.
MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest
4 – Four 2022 NBA All-Stars are part of the field for the MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest: Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).
6 – The two-round, timed shooting competition will feature the THE DEW ZONE,™ which is located 6 feet behind the 3-point line, where the participants will attempt two shots – with a special green ball – that are worth three points each.
Taco Bell® Skills Challenge
3 – Three teams of three players will compete in a new format for the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge, with the teams composed of threeAntetokounmpo brothers (Giannis and Thanasis of the Milwaukee Bucks and Alex of Raptors 905), three Cleveland Cavaliers players (Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley) and three NBA rookies (Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder).
4 – The competition will consist of four rounds and test shooting, passing and dribbling ability, culminating with the top two teams from the first three rounds competing in the fourth and final round, where the winning team will be the one that makes a half-court shot in the fastest time.
NBA All-Star Around the World
2 – With their participation in Clorox Rising Stars, Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder; Australia) and Dyson Daniels (NBA G League Ignite; Australia), who were teammates at NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, from 2019-2020, will become the first two NBA Academy alumni to participate in NBA All-Star.
4 – There are a record-tying four international All-Star Game starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia) and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors; Canada). Two other international players were selected as All-Star reserves: Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia) and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz; France).
6 – Six international television and radio networks – from France, Greece, Latin America, Mongolia, Poland and Spain – will conduct live onsite commentary at NBA All-Star 2022. Three television networks – from India, Netherlands and Norway – will broadcast NBA All-Star remotely for the first time.
15/12 – Fifteen international players from 12 countries will participate in NBA All-Star 2022 events.
Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
4 – The Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will tip off with the Ruffles Ridges 4-point Shooting Competition. Ruffles and the NBA will donate $4,000 to support the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for every shot made from behind the line, with a minimum of $40,000.
21 – The Celebrity Game rosters feature 21 participants, including Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and seven recording artists in Anuel AA, Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Jack Harlow, Machine Gun Kelly, Quavo and Anjali Ranadive.
NBA G League Next Gem Game
1 – The next generation of talent will be highlighted in the first NBA G League Next Gem Game, a matchup between NBA G League Ignite and the Cleveland Charge on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
Social Impact
14 – Volunteers across the NBA family will participate in the 14th Annual NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service presented by Nike, SAP and State Farm on Feb. 18, sorting and packing food donations at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and gently used books with the Kids’ Book Bank Cleveland to support thousands of children, seniors, families and other individuals in need.
2,000 – The NBA will dedicate its 2,000th Live, Learn or Play center, at the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, as part of the NBA 75th Live, Learn or Play Initiative in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.
110,000 – The NBA will support vaccination and testing efforts in Cleveland through 11 vaccination clinics, in addition to donating 10,000 rapid antigen tests and 110,000 face masks to the city’s COVID-19 Taskforce.
3,000,000 – As part of NBA All-Star 2022, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association will provide more than $3 million in programming and support to the Greater Cleveland and HBCU communities.
HBCUs
1 – Howard University and Morgan State University will meet in the first NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T on Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. ET, which will be simulcast on TNT, ESPN2 and NBA TV. As part of the NBA’s and AT&T’s ongoing commitments to HBCUs, they will donate $100,000 to each school.
2 – The NBA and MTN DEW will selected two HBCU students to receive up to $50,000 scholarships from Howard University and Morgan State University.
11 – Eleven HBCU college students will participate in an NBA All-Star Event Shadow program.
500,000 – In continued support of HBCU students, institutions and programs, the NBA and NBA Foundation will make grants of $250,000 each, totaling $500,000, to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and UNCF (United Negro College Fund).
NBA All-Star on TNT
5 – Five Turner Sports analysts were named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team: Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Isiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade.
20 – TNT will present the NBA All-Star Game for the 20th straight year.
NBA All-Star on ESPN
26 – ESPN Radio will broadcast its 26th All-Star Game, with play-by-play voice Marc Kestecher, analyst P.J. Carlesimo and reporters Ros Gold-Onwude and Monica McNutt on the call.
31 – Analysts Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson, who will call the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game with host Cassidy Hubbarth and reporter Monica McNutt, combined to play 31 seasons in the NBA.
