NBA Celebrity All-Star Game Rosters, Predictions
NBA history will be made Friday.
Alright, so this may not be the type of NBA history that is going to turn many heads, but it will be the first time the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game takes place in an NBA arena. This year’s contest will be played in historic Madison Square Garden and feature actors, musicians and WNBA players, among other stars.
Carmelo Anthony, Spike Lee and Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, the hosts of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike, will serve as the coaches.
Here is a look at the essential information for the Celebrity All-Star Game.
2015 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game
Date: Friday, Feb. 13
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV: ESPN
Rosters
The complete rosters are available here, courtesy of NBA.com, although there was no indication regarding who will play on which side as of Wednesday.
| Kevin Hart | Comedian and actor |
| Ansel Elgort | Actor |
| Anthony Anderson | Actor |
| Common | Musician and actor |
| Mo'ne Davis | Little League World Series star |
| Win Butler | Arcade Fire member |
| Chadwick Boseman | Actor |
| Nick Cannon | America's Got Talent host |
| Allan Houston | Former New York Knicks All-Star |
| Chris Mullin | Basketball Hall of Famer |
| Blake Leeper | Paralympic gold medalist |
| Michael Rapaport | Actor |
| Robert Pera | Memphis Grizzlies owner |
| Kristen Ledlow | NBA TV host |
| Abhishek Bachchan | Bollywood star |
| Shoni Schimmel | WNBA star (Atlanta Dream) |
| Skylar Diggins | WNBA star (Tulsa Shock) |
| Tina Charles | WNBA star (New York Liberty) |
MVP Prediction
Comedian and actor Kevin Hart is a three-time MVP of this contest, and he's back again to defend his crown. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say fan voting and his overall popularity helped him secure those trophies more so than his actual play on the court, but it will be hard to pick against him this year.
After all, he certainly has a track record at these contests.
The question now is whether someone can overtake Hart’s MVP dynasty with some fan votes of their own.
The top contender is Little League sensation Mo’ne Davis, who took the sports world by storm when she led the Taney Dragons to an impressive showing at the Little League World Series. She was the team’s star pitcher, threw a shutout in the process and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.
As the Golden State Warriors noted, Davis has even gained the attention of NBA superstars:
Jon Tayler of Sports Illustrated humorously pointed out one thing that would really help her chances at taking home the MVP trophy:
While Davis and Hart may be the top contenders, one player who won’t win the MVP is Nick Cannon, if his pregame comments were any indication, via Nina Mandell of USA Today:
"I don’t think there’s anybody who’s played in more NBA All-Star games than me. Especially no one who is as bad at me in basketball. I scored like two points every year…I’m the one always getting yelled at in the locker room, (my teammates) are like ‘Come on Nick you have to take this seriously.’
"
Davis will be the youngest player on the floor and will certainly inspire people to tune in after she helped the Little League World Series set record television ratings, even surpassing those of MLB games. She is an inspiring story, and the fans will respond accordingly by voting her the MVP.
Somehow, someway, Hart will find a way to get over it.
Score Prediction
It's a little more difficult to predict a final score when it has not yet been announced who will play on what team. However, let’s look at some past scores for help:
- 2014: 60-56
- 2013: 58-38
- 2012: 86-54
- 2011: 54-49
- 2010: 41-37
- 2009: 60-57
Notice a pattern here?
This game is more about entertainment than anything else, and the scores are almost always low because of it. The players try the same fancy passes and three-point shots as the pros will in the actual All-Star Game on Sunday, but they usually aren’t quite as talented. Those that are, like the WNBA players, rarely ever give 100 percent effort.
We aren’t talking about the floor-spacing offenses of the Atlanta Hawks or San Antonio Spurs here. The celebrities are there to have fun and won’t exactly play the prettiest version of basketball fans will see during All-Star weekend.
Look for another low-scoring contest.
Final score prediction: 74-66
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