NBA All-Star Saturday Night: How four Kings players will do, according to the odds
NBA All-Star Weekend begins Friday, and the Sacramento Kings will be in on the action starting with the Rising Stars game, as De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III play for the U.S. Team and Bogdan Bogdanovic for the World Team.
All-Star Saturday Night includes Fox in the Skills Challenge and Buddy Hield in the 3-Point Contest. A sportsbook has odds on the competition, including the slam dunk contest, and they favor Fox in the Skills Challenge with Hield a solid second choice in the 3-Point Contest. Here is a look at each field, with odds:
All-Star Saturday Night
Skills Challenge
Eight contestants put their dribbling, passing and shooting abilities to the test in a timed obstacle course.
De’Aaron Fox
Team: Kings
Position: PG
Stats: 17.2 ppg, 7.2 apg, 3.7 rpg
Odds: +225
Outlook: Speed kills in this event and there’s no one faster than Fox, the odds-on favorite.
Luka Doncic
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Position: SF
Stats: 20.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 5.6 apg
Odds: +325
Outlook: Boy Wonder can do it all, so there’s no reason he can’t do this.
Trae Young
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Position: PG
Stats: 16.9 ppg, 7.6 apg, 3.3 rpg
Odds: +375
Outlook: Small, shifty and quick, Atlanta’s rookie point man could be Fox’s top competition among the guards.
Mike Conley
Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Position: PG
Stats: 19.9 ppg, 6.4 apg, 3.4 rpg
Odds: +550
Outlook: Possesses all the requisite skills to shine in this contest, but can Conley, 31, keep up with the kids?
Jayson Tatum
Team: Boston Celtics
Position: SF
Stats: 16.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.9 apg
Odds: +600
Outlook: More likely to make his mark on All-Star Weekend in the Rising Stars game.
Nikola Jokic
Team: Denver Nuggets
Position: C
Stats: 20.4 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 7.7 apg
Odds: +625
Outlook: Not the most fleet-footed entry in this competition, but it should be fun to watch the marvelously skilled MVP candidate.
Kyle Kuzma
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Position: PF
Stats: 19.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
Odds: +700
Outlook: Kuzma possesses an intriguing mix of size, speed and shooting ability.
Nikola Vucevic
Team: Orlando Magic
Position: C
Stats: 20.6 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 3.8 apg
Odds: +900
Outlook: Highly skilled and agile for a big man, but it’s hard to see Vucevic keeping pace in this event.
3-Point Contest
Ten contestants will have 60 seconds to make as many shots as possible from five locations behind the 3-point line. The top three contestants in the qualifying round will advance to the finals.
Stephen Curry
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: SG
Stats: 28.6 ppg, 48.9 FG%, 44.4 3P%
Odds: +200
Outlook: Curry won this event in 2015 and will be the favorite to win it again in his hometown.
Buddy Hield
Team: Sacramento Kings
Position: SG
Stats: 20.5 ppg, 47.5 FG%, 44.9 3P%
Odds: +400
Outlook: It will be no surprise in Sacramento if the winner is Hield, who shot a sizzling 53.4 percent from 3-point range in January.
Devin Booker
Team: Phoenix Suns
Position: SG
Stats: 24.6 ppg, 46.0 FG%, 32.5 3P%
Odds: +500
Outlook: The 2018 3-point champion is shooting a career-low 32.9 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Seth Curry
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: SG
Stats: 6.2 ppg, 44.2 FG%, 46.5 3P%
Odds: +600
Outlook: How fun would it be to see Seth in the finals against big brother Steph, just like they were out in the backyard again?
Joe Harris
Team: Brooklyn Nets
Position: SF
Stats: 13.9 ppg, 50.1 FG%, 47.1 3P%
Odds: +650
Outlook: Harris shoots it as well as anyone in the field and hit 7 of 8 from 3-point range against the Toronto Raptors this week.
Kemba Walker
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Position: PG
Stats: 25.2 ppg, 43.5 FG%, 36.7 3P%
Odds: +800
Outlook: Certainly not the odds-on favorite, but Walker will be the crowd favorite.
Damian Lillard
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: PG
Stats: 26.3 ppg, 45.0 FG%, 37.3 3P%
Odds: +900
Outlook: Set a franchise record with 10 3-pointers against the Orlando Magic this season.
Danny Green
Team: Toronto Raptors
Position: SG
Stats: 9.8 ppg, 44.6 FG%, 42.1 3P%
Odds: +1200
Outlook: Probably not a serious threat to Hield and the Curry Bros.
Khris Middleton
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Position: SF
Stats: 17.1 ppg, 43.6 FG%, 37.8 SP%
Odds: +1200
Outlook: Seems like a long shot, but the Bucks never lose, sooo ... who knows?
Dirk Nowitzki
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Position: PF
Stats: 4.7 ppg, 35.5 FG%, 30.9 SP%
Odds: +1500
Outlook: Nowitzki won this event in 2005-06, but he’s only here in his 21st and final NBA season so we can all stand and applaud.
Slam Dunk contest
Four contestants throw down for a panel of judges, showcasing their aerial artistry and leaping ability in an event that has immortalized stars such as Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Vince Carter.
Dennis Smith Jr.
Team: New York Knicks
Position: PG
Stats: 13.5 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.0 rpg
Odds: +150
Outlook: New team but the same explosive leaping ability for Smith, the odds-on favorite who might have won last year’s event if he hadn’t missed one of his first-round attempts.
John Collins
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Position: PG
Stats: 19.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.1 apg
Odds: +250
Outlook: History doesn’t favor Collins, who is trying to join Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard as the third player 6-foot-10 or taller to win the dunk contest.
Miles Bridges
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Position: SF
Stats: 6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg
Odds: +250
Outlook: Bridges has impressive hops and could be a bit of a dark-horse favorite in front of the hometown crowd.
Hamidou Diallo
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: SG
Stats: 4.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.4 apg
Odds: +325
Outlook: Could put on a show with elite athleticism and a 6-11 wingspan.
Source: Odds provided by Bovada sportsbook; odds as of 8 p.m. Thursday
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 8:14 PM.
