For the first time since 2017, the NBA is going back to an East versus West format for the All-Star Game, and it couldn’t be more exciting.
The experiment with mixed-conference teams and player drafts was fun for a while, but it grew stale after just four different players were named captains over a six-year stretch and bad drafting heightened the nostalgia of past all-stars. And so for the 2024 edition in Indiana, tradition returns … which means the Western Conference is loaded again.
Yeah, remember when all the best players were in the West? That might be a thing again, especially with Joel Embiid ruled out. Don’t get me wrong, the Eastern Conference still has great players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum. But when you look at the other side and see Nikola Jokic and LeBron James and Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry … you get the point. The Western Conference is favored by 2.5 points, and that’s the side I’m picking to win and cover.
As for the total, I’ll reluctantly take the game to fall under 363.5 points. Though the last two East-versus-West games went over this number, I think we’ll get a little more competitiveness in the first year of the format’s return — even if it fades in the years to follow.
Now, let’s get into my picks for the rest of All-Star Weekend, including an All-Star Game MVP.
Rising Stars
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
What team is Victor Wembanyama on again? That’s all I need to know. Of all the rising stars, he’s easily the brightest, and the powers that be gave him a stacked squad too. Team Pau also has Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Wembanyama’s former Metropolitans 92 teammate Bilal Coulibaly. I’ll roll with the favorite.
Prince’s Pick: Team Pau +150
Skills Challenge
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The three teams competing in the Skills Challenge are Team Top Picks, Team All-Stars and Team Pacers (+220). I still believe this competition to favor guard skills, so I’ll roll with Team All-Stars, which features Trae Young and Tyrese Maxey, along with a big like Scottie Barnes who averages six assists and shoots 35 percent from three.
Prince’s Pick: Team All-Stars +185
3-Point Contest
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My two favorite picks in this contest are the last two players to win it, Damian Lillard (2023) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2022). Towns wasn’t healthy enough to defend his title last year, opening the door for Lillard to finally win his first after failing in his previous two attempts. Now that Lillard has one, I think he’ll go hard for another to join Stephen Curry on that short list of players with multiple titles.
Prince’s Pick: Damian Lillard +360
Slam Dunk
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Look, the obvious pick here is Mac McClung. He’s the reigning champion, and dunking is probably something he puts more time into than the actual NBA players in this field. But because his odds are so short, I’ll take a swing on Jaylen Brown. Brown has some of the nastiest in-game dunks of the season, and though that doesn’t always translate to a dunk contest, his status as the biggest star of the group might — as long as his dunks are decent.
Prince’s Pick: Jaylen Brown +525
All-Star Game MVP
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I already mentioned how I had the Western Conference winning the game, so my pick is going to come from that side, and I’ll roll with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to grab it. Not only is SGA starting for the West, but he’s also the young gun in that lineup, so I could see a lot of the older statesman deferring to him. Not to mention, he’s a top-two MVP candidate in the regular season. And with Nikola Jokic still favored to win that award, this might be the one SGA can grab from the big man.
Prince’s Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +1400
Bonus: Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu
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BetMGM doesn’t have odds for this contest as of the time I’m writing this, but I’ll go on the record to say I’m rolling with Curry. He is the GOAT shooter after all, and SuperBook has him as a -240 favorite.
NBA/WNBA
Stephen vs Sabrina 3-point contest
Sabrina Ionescu +200
Stephen Curry -240— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) February 15, 2024
