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MEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 15, 2024
Wildcats to Participate in Every NBA All-Star Weekend EventRecord-breaking seven Wildcats selected to Sunday’s All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS – The Kentucky men’s basketball team will make its annual presence felt at NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis with a Wildcat participating in every event during the league’s showcase of talent.
Headlined by a record-breaking seven Wildcats selected for Sunday’s All-Star Game, Kenutcky is set to dominate the weekend once again. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will start for the Western Conference and be joined by Anthony Davis, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns. They will take on the Eastern Conference which features UK stars Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Maxey and Julius Randle.
Sunday’s game will tip off at 8 p.m. ET and air on TNT.
But that is far from the only action of the weekend featuring the Wildcats.
Things officially start Friday with the Rising Stars Challenge at 9 p.m. ET on TNT. Cason Wallace, Shaedon Sharpe and Oscar Tshiebwe were selected for the event. Sharpe will not participate due to injury. Wallace will suit up for Team Pau and Tshiebwe was picked for Team Detlef. The event will feature a three-game mini-tournament among four teams comprised of NBA rookies, sophomores and NBA G League Players.
All-Star Saturday will feature Towns among the competitors in the 3-point shooting contest and Maxey in the Skills Challenge. Jacob Toppin will compete in the dunk contest.
Maxey will join forces with fellow All-Stars Scottie Barnes and Trae Young. In addition to being a first-time All-Star, this will be Maxey’s first time competing in Saturday night festivities.
Towns will look to be a two-time champion in the 3-point contest. He won the event in 2022 as the tallest player to ever win the long-range shooting competition. Towns is a career 40% shooter from 3-point range and has averaged more than two made 3s per game in each of his last five seasons.
Toppin will seek to become the fourth Wildcat to win the Dunk Contest. Previous winners include Hamidou Diallo in 2019, John Wall in 2014 and Kenny Walker in 1989. Toppin’s brother, Obi Toppin, won the event in 2022. The Toppin brothers will look to become the first set of brothers to claim the trophy in the event’s history.
All-Star Saturday night begins at 8 p.m. ET also airing on TNT.
Maxey will make his debut in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, while Adebayo and Randle are making their third appearance, Booker and Towns were both selected for the fourth time, Davis was tabbed an All-Star for the ninth time in his career and Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time pick.
Wildcat players will represent nearly 30% of the 24-player rosters in this year’s annual game. With seven total selections, it is the most All-Stars in one season from one college in the game’s history. Duke, with two selections, was the only other program to have multiple honorees in 2024.
UK’s seven selections bests the previous All-Star Game record of four players from one collegiate program. UCLA had four players in the 1983 game, while Kentucky had four players in 2023 and 2018.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 15, 2024
Wildcats to Participate in Every NBA All-Star Weekend EventRecord-breaking seven Wildcats selected to Sunday’s All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS – The Kentucky men’s basketball team will make its annual presence felt at NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis with a Wildcat participating in every event during the league’s showcase of talent.
Headlined by a record-breaking seven Wildcats selected for Sunday’s All-Star Game, Kenutcky is set to dominate the weekend once again. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will start for the Western Conference and be joined by Anthony Davis, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns. They will take on the Eastern Conference which features UK stars Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Maxey and Julius Randle.
Sunday’s game will tip off at 8 p.m. ET and air on TNT.
But that is far from the only action of the weekend featuring the Wildcats.
Things officially start Friday with the Rising Stars Challenge at 9 p.m. ET on TNT. Cason Wallace, Shaedon Sharpe and Oscar Tshiebwe were selected for the event. Sharpe will not participate due to injury. Wallace will suit up for Team Pau and Tshiebwe was picked for Team Detlef. The event will feature a three-game mini-tournament among four teams comprised of NBA rookies, sophomores and NBA G League Players.
All-Star Saturday will feature Towns among the competitors in the 3-point shooting contest and Maxey in the Skills Challenge. Jacob Toppin will compete in the dunk contest.
Maxey will join forces with fellow All-Stars Scottie Barnes and Trae Young. In addition to being a first-time All-Star, this will be Maxey’s first time competing in Saturday night festivities.
Towns will look to be a two-time champion in the 3-point contest. He won the event in 2022 as the tallest player to ever win the long-range shooting competition. Towns is a career 40% shooter from 3-point range and has averaged more than two made 3s per game in each of his last five seasons.
Toppin will seek to become the fourth Wildcat to win the Dunk Contest. Previous winners include Hamidou Diallo in 2019, John Wall in 2014 and Kenny Walker in 1989. Toppin’s brother, Obi Toppin, won the event in 2022. The Toppin brothers will look to become the first set of brothers to claim the trophy in the event’s history.
All-Star Saturday night begins at 8 p.m. ET also airing on TNT.
Maxey will make his debut in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, while Adebayo and Randle are making their third appearance, Booker and Towns were both selected for the fourth time, Davis was tabbed an All-Star for the ninth time in his career and Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time pick.
Wildcat players will represent nearly 30% of the 24-player rosters in this year’s annual game. With seven total selections, it is the most All-Stars in one season from one college in the game’s history. Duke, with two selections, was the only other program to have multiple honorees in 2024.
UK’s seven selections bests the previous All-Star Game record of four players from one collegiate program. UCLA had four players in the 1983 game, while Kentucky had four players in 2023 and 2018.
