The world’s best basketball players will come together in Cleveland for NBA All-Star Weekend 2022. There are events scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, culminating with a matchup between Team LeBron and Team Durant in the All-Star Game.

All-Star Weekend starts at 7 p.m. EST Friday with the annual All-Star Celebrity Game. Two hours later, the league’s best young players will be part of the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars.

Rising Stars features a short three-game tournament among four teams. The rosters will be made up of 12 rookies, 12 second-year players and four members of the NBA G League Ignite.

Plenty of basketball fans look forward to All-Star Saturday more than the actual game itself. The action starts at 8 p.m. EST with the Skills Challenge, followed by the 3-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest.

Cole Anthony, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Obi Toppin and Jalen Green will compete to be this year’s slam dunk champion. The 3-point shootout is headlined by Trae Young, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns.

LaVine is trying to become the first player to win both the 3-point and slam dunk contests. LaVine became the slam dunk champion in 2015 and 2016.

The top players in the NBA’s developmental league take center stage in the NBA G League Next Gem Game at 2 p.m. EST. The 71st NBA All-Star Game starts at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, ending the weekend’s festivities.

As the captains of the two All-Star teams, Kevin Durant and LeBron James drafted their respective rosters on Feb. 10. James will be joined in the starting lineup by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan. A knee injury will prevent Durant from playing. His starting five features Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Jayson Tatum and Andrew Wiggins.

James’ team has won four straight All-Star Games, including a victory last year over Team Durant. Six of the last seven NBA MVP awards have been won by members of James’ roster.

Jimmy Butler, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Chris Paul will come off the bench for Team LeBron. Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Fred VanVleet made the roster as first-time All-Stars.

Towns and LaVine will play for Team Durant one night after competing in the 3-Point Shootout. Devin Booker, Rudy Gobert and Khris Middleton are Team Durant reserves, along with first-time All-Stars LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray.

TNT and TBS will broadcast the game from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

Lebron James #23 of Team LeBron reacts against Team Durant in the 70th NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena on March 07, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Lebron James #23 of Team LeBron reacts against Team Durant in the 70th NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena on March 7, 2021, in Atlanta. Getty Images | Kevin C. Cox
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