The NBA All-Star Game and all the attendant weekend festivities come to San Francisco this year with the Golden State Warriors hosting the contest on their home court at Chase Center.
Sunday’s game marks the first time the Warriors have hosted the event in a quarter century, having previously hosted the 2000 NBA All-Star at Oakland Arena and, before that, the 1967 All-Star Game at the Cow Palace in Daly City.
In addition to games and events on both sides of the Bay in San Francisco and Oakland, there are affiliated concerts featuring artists like electronic dance acts Zedd and Chainsmokers, hip-hop stars Flo Rida and 2 Chains, singer-songwriter Noah Kahan and blues guitar phenom Gary Clark Jr., the immersive fan experience NBA Crossover and NBA All-Star Alley on Powell St. with pop-up storefronts, live podcast recordings and a specially designed basketball court at Union Square.
Where are this weekend’s events happening?
Most of the major NBA All-Star Game events including the game itself are happening at Chase Center, but there are a few things happening at the Warriors’ former Oakland Arena home. The NBA All-Star concert series during the weekend will be held at San Francisco’s Pier 48, while the NBA Crossover fan experience will be held at Moscone Center from Friday through Sunday. While the inclement weather led to the cancellation of the outdoor NBA All-Star Tip-Off Party Thursday during the Warriors game against the Houston Rockets, there will be related activities happening at Thrive City through the weekend at the entertainment zone’s restaurants, bars and other businesses like the newly opened Splash sports bar.
When are the main All-Star Weekend events happening?
Here is a rundown of when the major NBA All-Star Weekend games and contests are taking place.
Friday:
- NBA All-Star celebrity game at Oakland Arena, Friday, Feb. 14, 4 p.m.
- Rising Stars competition at Chase Center, Friday, Feb. 14, 6 p.m.
Saturday:
- NBA All-Star practice at Oakland Arena, Saturday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m.
- NBA HBCU Classic with Morehouse College vs. Tuskegee University at Oakland Arena, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m.
- All-Star Saturday Night featuring the Skills Challenge, the 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest at Chase Center, Saturday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m.
Sunday:
- NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center, Sunday, Feb. 16, 5 p.m.
How do you get around on All-Star Weekend?
With San Francisco expecting tens of thousands of visitors for various All-Star events in addition to even more people attend the Chinese New Year’s Parade on Saturday (as well as other associated happenings throughout the weekend), traffic in the city is expected to be challenging. The SFMTA released detailed information earlier this week about the various street closures and Muni re-routes around the Moscone Center and the Chase Center for All-Star Weekend.
On the plus side, Muni service will also be free for the entire weekend with the exception of the cable car lines, which will make it much easier for visitors willing to take public transit to the various All-Star Weekend destinations. The SFMTA has more information on related street closures and route impacts at its website. BART is also providing information on how to get to Chase Center and the Oakland Arena (which uses its own designated Coliseum BART station) on the transit agency’s website.
Which All-Stars are playing?
The All-Stars are split into three teams of eight players this year, drafted by TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. The rundown:
Chuck’s Global Stars: Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Houston’s Alperen Sengun, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Trae Young. (Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was supposed to play but cannot because of injury. Young replaced him in the game.)
Shaq’s OGs: Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving, Boston teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard and the Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden. (Dallas’ Anthony Davis was supposed to play but cannot because of injury. Irving replaced him for the game.)
Kenny’s Young Stars: Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, Cleveland teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Miami’s Tyler Herro.
What is the new NBA All-Star Game format?
The NBA All-Star Game will launch a radically different new tournament format this year that makes its debut Sunday at the Chase Center in San Francisco. What was once a standard basketball game with squads from the East and West conferences facing off, this year the All-Star Game will feature a mini-tournament with four teams playing games to 40 points. That mean’s there is no game clock — just a shot clock — and nobody fouls out.
The fourth team in the tournament will be the one that wins the Rising Stars competition on Friday. That will include a mix of rookie and second year players making up three teams along with a fourth team of G League players. For All-Star Game purposes, it will be called Candace’s Rising Stars, in honor of Candace Parker.
The semifinal matchups on All-Star Sunday will have Chuck’s Global Stars facing Kenny’s Young Stars and Shaq’s OGs taking on Candace’s Rising Stars. There is a prize pool of $1.8 million for the All-Star tournament. Each player on the All-Star champion team gets $125,000, each player on the runner-up team will get $50,000 and the players on the teams eliminated in the semifinals will each get $25,000.
Who is performing at All-Star weekend?
In addition to the scheduled NBA All-Star concerts at Pier 48 that require separate paid admission, a number of artists will be performing at the main events throughout the weekend. DJ Cassidy, Too $hort, Saweetie, En Vogue and Raphael Saadiq will be among the featured performers on All-Star Sunday, with comedian Kevin Hart serving at the emcee during the tournament. For All-Star Saturday night, H.E.R. and LiAngelo Ball — the brother of NBA guards Lonzo Ball and LaMelo Ball — will be among the performers. Bay Area rapper LaRussell will take the stage to perform an original song to introduce the Rising Stars on Friday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Dave PehlingDave Pehling is website managing editor for CBS Bay Area. He started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He began his role with CBS Bay Area in 2015.
