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Former Kentucky Wildcats will once again have a strong presence at the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend.
Headlined by three NBA All-Stars, more alumni than any other school, a total of nine former Cats will take part the festivities spanning three days in New Orleans, including John Wall, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, DeMarcus Cousins, Jamal Murray, Trey Lyles, Alex Poythress and Dakari Johnson.
Things officially start Friday night with the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at 9 p.m. ET on TNT. That’s where Devin Booker and and Karl-Anthony Towns will play for Team USA, while Trey Lyles and Jamal Murray will represent the World Team. No other school has more than two former players in this game.
All-Star Saturday will begin with the NBA D-League All-Star Game at 2:30 p.m. ET. Former Cats, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress will participate, and the game can be seen on NBA TV at the Mercedes Benz Superdome.
Then comes the Taco Bell Skills Challenge with four of the eight participants hailing from UK, including Devin Booker, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and John Wall. Towns is not participating but did win the event last season.
This year’s Skills Challenge will start at 8 p.m. ET on TNT at the Smoothie King Center.
The main event will be Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for the All-Star Game. Anthony Davis and John Wall will be making their fourth appearances in the game while DeMarcus Cousins will make his third. Davis will make his second start in the annual NBA spectacle, while Cousins and Wall will come off the bench as reserves.
That game will tip off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
NBA All-Star Weekend Events
Friday, Feb. 17: BBVA Rising Stars Challenge (9 p.m. ET | TNT) – Booker, Lyles, Murray, Towns
Saturday, Feb. 18: NBA D-League All-Star Game (2:30 p.m. ET | NBA TV) – Johnson, Poythress
Taco Bell Skills Challenge (8 p.m. ET | TNT) – Booker, Cousins, Davis, Wall
Sunday, Feb. 19: NBA All-Star Game (8 p.m. ET | TNT) – Cousins, Davis, Wall