With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, the NHL on an international break and baseball still more than a month away, it’s time for the NBA to take center stage. And the association won’t waste any time doing just that, as NBA All-Star Weekend is coming up this Friday through Sunday in San Francisco. Among the events on the schedule are the Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge, a Rising Stars bracket and a newly formatted All-Star Game.
Before the festivities tip off at the home of the Golden State Warriors, let’s break down the action and discuss the best bets to make.
- PICK #1: TEAM CHUCK TO WIN THE ALL-STAR GAME (+180)
- PICK #2: MAC MCCLUNG TO WIN THE SLAM DUNK CONTEST (-210)
- PICK #3: BUDDY HIELD TO WIN THE THREE-POINT CONTEST (+700)
- PICK #4: TEAM CAVS TO WIN THE SKILLS CHALLENGE (+195)
- PICK #5: TEAM CHRIS MULLIN TO WIN THE RISING STARS (+240)
PICK #1: Team Chuck To Win The All-Star Game (+180)
Charles Barkley’s squad will be competing against teams captained by Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith in addition to whoever wins the Rising Stars competition. The Rising Stars team probably won’t have a realistic chance and Smith’s group fails to excite outside of Anthony Edwards. Shaq’s roster is arguably on par with Chuck’s, but a slight edge may go to the latter.
There is a lot to like about Team Chuck’s combination of low-post and perimeter players, with the lineup headlined by Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Sengun, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell. Any semblance of defense can win an All-Star Game – and both Wembanyama and Sengun can play defense. At 7’3’’, Wembanyama is obviously a freak of nature on both ends of the floor – but he is especially a menace on defense. If he, Sengun and Jokic play anything close to inspired basketball, they should be able to protect the paint and win the rebounding battles.
PICK #2: Mac McClung To Win The Slam Dunk Contest (-210)
There is no need to overthink this one. McClung is the two-time defending champion of this event, so he knows what he is doing out there. The former Texas Tech star has won it in each of his two appearances, so it’s not like he has participated a million times and used up a vast reservoir of dunks. McClung should still have plenty of new tricks up his sleeve.
He is going up against a thoroughly unspectacular crop of youngsters in Stephon Castle, Andre Jackson Jr. and Matas Buzelis. None of those guys have done anything in the very early stages of their professional careers to inspire any confidence in their dunking abilities. McClung is almost certainly the best dunker – and even if he isn’t on Saturday night, reputation alone should see him favored by the judges.
PICK #3: Buddy Hield To Win The Three-Point Contest (+700)
A three-time participant, Hield has plenty of experience on this stage. He accounted himself well in 2023, finishing runner-up to Damian Lillard by just a single point in the final round. The Warriors’ sharpshooter will be performing in front of the home crowd, too, so that should provide an extra boost. Hield has not been completely on fire during his first season with Golden State, but he is heating up right now to the tune of at least four three-pointers made in three of the last four games.
Lillard is obviously the favorite as the two-time defending champion, but he does not have great value at +400. Jalen Brunson is not necessarily a three-point marksman by trade, Tyler Herro is shooting a horrendous 10-for-40 from the land of plenty through five games so far in February and Cade Cunningham is a lifetime 33.6 percent shooting from deep.
PICK #4: Team Cavs To Win The Skills Challenge (+195)
The Skills Challenge can probably be classified as more of a crapshoot than any other competition during All-Star Weekend. Nonetheless, the Cavs appear to have decent value even as the slight favorites. Mitchell and Evan Mobley are the most impressive duo on paper. Mobley won this event in 2022 with Cleveland teammates Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, while Mitchell participated in 2018. Experience can’t hurt. The Skills Challenge involves shooting, passing, dribbling and speed; Mitchell obviously boasts all of those tools and Mobley’s success three years ago is encouraging.
Here are the other teams: Wembanyama and Chris Paul; Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr; Draymond Green and Moses Moody. Each of those combinations can be considered too slow, too inexperienced, or too inconsistent in the shooting department.
PICK #5: Team Chris Mullin To Win The Rising Stars (+240)
No one would argue that a max effort is going to be put forth in any kind of game during All-Star Weekend, but at least there is some incentive to win the Rising Stars competition. After all, the victors will get a shot at the big boys (Team Chuck, Team Shaq and Team Kenny) in the real All-Star Game. If the effort is there, the best team should win – and the best team belongs to Mullin. Castle, Dalton Knecht, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Zach Edey highlight the roster. You have to think Knecht will be playing with a chip on his shoulder after being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Charlotte Hornets only to have the deal voided when Mark Williams failed his physical.
Team Mitch Richmond and Team Tim Hardaway have to be respected, but on paper their rosters look slightly weaker than that of Mullin. Team Jeremy Lin consists entirely of G-League players (including McClung), so they are without question at the bottom of the totem pole with a lot of room to spare.
