HIGHLIGHTS ANTETOKOUNMPO, EMBIID, JOKIĆ, NOWITZKI, SIMMONS, VUČEVIĆ
– Record 18 International Players from 14 Countries to Participate in NBA All-Star 2019 –
– NBA All-Star 2019 Will Reach Fans in 215 Countries and Territories in 49 Languages –
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 14, 2019 – NBA All-Star 2019 will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets. This includes MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 15 at 9 p.m. ET, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET, the 68th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET, as well as behind-the-scenes coverage and interviews throughout the week.
Below are international highlights of this year’s global celebration of basketball:
- 2019 NBA All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; parents from Nigeria), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2011), Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics; Australia), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks; Germany), Ben Simmons (76ers; Australia) and Nikola Vučević (Orlando Magic; Montenegro) are among the record 18 international players from 14 countries participating in MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and/or the 68th NBA All-Star Game. Team Giannis features five of the record seven international players in the 68th NBA All-Star Game.
- For the fifth consecutive year, MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world in the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star. Each participant on the World Team’s 10-player roster hails from a different country, with four continents represented (North America, Africa, Europe and Australia). The World Team also includes three players who participated as campers in Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program: Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns; Bahamas; BWB Global 2016), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (LA Clippers; Canada; BWB Global 2016) and Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls; Finland; BWB Europe 2014; BWB Global 2015). Dirk Nowitzki will serve as an honorary coach of the World Team.
- Fans around the world can participate in the NBA All-Star 2019 experience through NBA League Pass via watch.NBA.com and the NBA App. For the first time, fans outside of North America will be able to purchase and watch portions of NBA All-Star events in-progress at reduced prices, including the MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and the 68th NBA All-Star Game. Fans can visit https://watch.nba.com/packages for more information.
- Fans around the world will be able to vote for the MVPs of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles (via SMS and Twitter), MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars (via NBA.com, SMS and Twitter) and the 68th NBA All-Star Game (via NBA.com, SMS and Twitter). Fans in China can vote on NBA.com.
- The NBA and FIBA will conduct the fifth annual Basketball Without Borders Global Camp from Feb. 15-17 at the Queens University of Charlotte Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation, with NIKE serving as the official partner. Current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players, including Jokić, Vučević, Ayton and Bogdan Bogdanović (Sacramento Kings; Serbia), will coach the top 63 high school age campers from 31 countries and regions across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. The camp will feature 10 current prospects from NBA Academies, the league’s network of elite basketball training centers around the world for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S., and five prospects who participated in The NBA Academies Women’s Program. Select portions of the camp will be livestreamed on the NBA’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/NBA and FIBA’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/FIBA.
- More than 350 international media members from 44 countries and territories are heading to Charlotte to cover NBA All-Star 2019.
- The eighth annual NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified® Basketball Game on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET will feature 12 athletes from seven countries (Canada, Cayman Islands, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.) playing alongside NBA and WNBA players and legends. The game will be livestreamed on the NBA Cares Facebook page at Facebook.com/NBACares.
- The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET will feature Irish-Canadian actor AJ Buckley, awarding-winning Puerto Rican recording artist Bad Bunny, Bucks co-owner and Moroccan-American Marc Lasry, Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj, and Turkish-American television personality Dr. Oz.
- Multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer/songwriter and Canadian Carly Rae Jepsen will perform the Canadian national anthem before the 68th NBA All-Star Game.
More than 20 international influencers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, and the U.K. will participate in the NBA All-Star International Celebrity-Influencer All-Access Program, receiving behind-the-scenes access to the weekend’s events.
