NBA All-Star 2021 Schedule: Start Time, Channel For Team LeBron vs. Team Durant

Most of the top basketball players in the world will share the court Sunday night in Atlanta for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. All-Star Weekend usually culminates with the exhibition contest after several events Saturday, but the league has changed the schedule this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

All-Star coverage starts at 5 p.m. EST on TNT. The Skills Challenge starts at 6:30 p.m. EST, followed by the 3-Point Contest. Both of those competitions are expected to be over within 90 minutes for the start of the All-Star Game at 8 p.m. EST.

Usually the main event of All-Star Saturday night, the Slam Dunk Contest will instead take place during halftime of this year’s game.

As the top vote-getters, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the All-Star captains. Durant won’t play in Sunday’s game as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

The All-Star Game will follow the same format as last year’s contest. Team LeBron and Team Durant will compete to win each quarter, and a “Final Target Score” will be determined for the fourth quarter. The final quarter is untimed, and the contest can’t go into overtime.

James was also a captain last year. His squad defeated the team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo by a final score of 157-155. Kawhi Leonard won the game’s MVP award.

Durant and Anthony Davis will both miss the game with injuries. Devin Booker and Domantas Sabonis have been named as their replacements. Jayson Tatum was initially picked as a reserve and will replace Durant in the starting lineup.

Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic are among the other All-Star starters.