NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game Preview: Participants, Tip Time, and TV Info

February 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Since 2004, the NBA has tipped off its All-Star Weekend with the Celebrity Game, filling the void that MTV created when the network discontinued the annual Rock N’ Jock game.

Six-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt headlines the celebrity roster for tonight’s game, which also features reigning MVP comedian Kevin Hart and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who has become a fixture in the Celebrity Game.

Usain Bolt is one of the world's greatest athletes. We'll learn tonight whether he can play basketball. Here he is dunking at an event last year in New Zealand. (Photo from Getty Images)

Usain Bolt is one of the world’s greatest athletes. We’ll learn tonight whether he can play basketball. Here he is dunking at an event last year in New Zealand. (Photo from Getty Images)

They will be joined assortment of other celebrities, people who are celebrities only in the loosest sense of the word, current WNBA players (including future hall of famer Tamika Catchings), and former NBA players (including video game protagonist Dikembe Mutombo.)

Expect this year’s game to be only marginally watchable but to feature better defensive play than the Rising Stars Challenge that follows.

Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Info

  • all-star-2013-houstonStart Time: Tonight, Friday February 15; 7:00 Eastern, 6:00 Central
  • Television: ESPN
  • Location: Sprint Arena at George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas

Confirmed Participants

Musicians

  • Common
  • Ne-Yo
  • Trey Songz

Actors, Comedians, and TV Personalities

  • Kevin Hart (comedian, actor, reigning MVP)
  • Josh Hutcherson (actor, The Hunger Games, that Red Dawn remake no one saw)
  • John Schriffen (ABC News Correspondent)
  • Nick Cannon (former Nickelodeon star, now on Real Husbands of Hollywood)
  • Terrence Jenkins (E! News, Anchor)
  • Ryen Russillo (ESPN Host)

Other

  • Usain Bolt (Jamaican sprinter, six-time Olympic gold medalist)
  • Arne Duncan (U.S. Secretary of Education)

WNBA Stars

  • Tamika Catchings
  • Maya Moore

Former NBA Players

  • Clyde Drexler
  • Dikembe Mutombo
  • Sean Elliot
  • Bruce Bowen

Coaches

  • Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
  • James Harden (Houston Rockets)
  • Queen Latifah (assistant coach, musician and actor)
  • Samantha Harris (assistant coach, TV host)
Filed Under: NBA
About Josh Tinley

Josh Tinley writes the Away From The Action column at Midwest Sports Fans, covering all aspects of sport aside from what actually happens on the field, court, or track. Josh grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from the University of Evansville and Vanderbilt Divinity School. He is the author of Kneeling in the End Zone: Spiritual Lessons From the World of Sports and the managing editor of LinC, a weekly curriculum for teens that explores the intersection of faith and culture. Josh lives outside Nashville with his wife, Ashlee, and children, Meyer (7), Resha Kate (5), and Malachi (3). He will not allow himself to die before the Evansville Purple Aces make another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Follow him on Twitter @joshtinley or send him an e-mail.

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