The NBA has always had a close relationship with the celebrity world. Now, with the NBA All Star Game approaching this weekend, Houston is beginning to liven up. Last night, Houston natives Bun B and Kirko Bangz threw a party at The Bamboo lounge along with celebrities and NBA legends such as Gary Payton. To honor the official kick off of the All Star Weekend, which will last from February 15-17, celebrities will have their chance to show off their b-ballin skills first.
Tonight, at 7 PM EST, celebrities such as last years MVP Kevin Hart, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, Usain Bolt, Common and Nick Cannon will go up against one another in the 9th annual Celebrity All Star Game. NBA legends such as Clyde Drexler, Dikembe Mutombo and Bruce Bowen will join them in the friendly, yet competitive game of basketball. Not to forget the ladies, WNBA stars Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever and Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx will also join in on the action. Serving as coaches of the East and West will be Russell Westbrook and Houston’s own James Harden, respectively. Serving as assistant coaches will be Queen Latifah and television host Samantha Harris.
The game, as mentioned previously, will start at 7 PM and will air on ESPN. You can also view the game on WatchESPN.com. The event will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center and is hosted by Sprint. Following the celebrity game at 9 PM, there will be the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which will feature the NBA’s youngest talent such as Kyrie Irving of Cleveland and Kemba Walker of Charlotte. Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis will also participate amongst many others. The two teams were picked by NBA pioneers and legends, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.
Saturday night a number of events such as the “Skills” and “3-Point Shooting Contest” will be going down. Finally, after those two events, the fan favorite “Slam Dunk Contest” will take place with stars like Gerald Green of Indiana and Eric Bledsoe of the Clippers.
The All Star game itself will be played at the Toyota Center on Sunday and will start at 8 PM EST. However, if the celebrities and basketball players get bored in between, there will be a number of parties going on as well. Rappers such as Diddy, Birdman and Rick Ross have all scheduled events for the festive weekend.
In celebration of the weekend, Trae Tha Truth has dropped off a new mixtape today, All Start 2013: Take Flight. Stream and/or download it below.
