NBA All-Star Draft, Barcelona-Real Madrid, and More to Watch This Week

Must Watch: NBA All-Star Draft

With the NBA All-Star rosters, coaches and captains selected, the made-for-TV draft takes place this Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT. As leading fan vote-getters, team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will draft their teams live for fans and players to watch like they’re back at the park choosing teams for a pickup game.

For the full All-Star roster pool of players to pick, tap or click here. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also announced that two legends will be available to be picked and play in the game to honor their historic careers.

In addition to the draft, there will also be actual basketball played this week, with some top national games and NBA League Pass matchups.

On national television:

Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers – Tuesday 8 p.m., TNT – A matchup of the second and third-place teams in the East

San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors – Wednesday 10:30 p.m., ESPN – The Spurs have shot up the West standings by going 7-3 in their last 10 games. Also, since this game will be in Oakland and not San Antonio, we won’t have a moment like this, which truly is a shame:

Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics – Thursday 8 p.m., TNT – The NBA community can only hope this game begins right after LeBron drafts Kyrie Irving to his All-Star team first overall.

Top NBA League Pass matchups this week:

Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers – Tuesday, 7 p.m. (Watch) LeBron returned from injury last Thursday, then sat out against the Warriors on Saturday, so he should be back on the court again for this one.

Charlotte Hornets at Dallas Mavericks – Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. (Watch) Two of the most talented and entertaining players in the league face off as Kemba Walkervisits rookie sensation (and All-Star snub?) Luka Doncic.

Here’s how to watch NBA League Pass on B/R Live and here’s the full NBA schedule.

2 More Things to Watch This Week

1. El Clásico

You’ve heard the saying less is more, but this section does not follow that principle. For us, more is always better. More Clásicos that is, because after Real Madrid and Barcelona were drawn as Copa del Rey semifinal opponents, there will be three versions of El Clásico (Los Clásicos?) in the span of about a month. Twice in the cup competition and once in La Liga.

For this week, Barcelona hosts Real Madrid in the first leg of the semifinals – Wednesday 3 p.m. ET on beIN SPORTS – The return leg will be in Madrid on Feb. 27, and then the teams will play three days later in the same place in a La Liga showdown. And just for good measure, sandwiched in between their cup matches, each team plays the first leg of its Champions League Round of 16 matchup. It hardly gets better than this.

On the other side of the Copa del Rey draw, Real Betis will host Valencia in Leg 1 this Thursday at 3 p.m., also on beIN SPORTS.

   

2. College Hoops Galore

With the Super Bowl closing the book on the NFL season, basketball can officially take the torch as top sport for the next couple months. And as we mentioned last week, March is coming. Prepare yourselves with these men’s basketball ranked matchups and rivalry games this week:

North Carolina State at No. 8 North Carolina, Tuesday 8 p.m., WatchESPN (Game Center) – Okay full disclosure, yes this is a rivalry game, but we had to find an excuse to tell you the Wolfpack scored 24 TOTAL POINTS in a loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. TWENTY FOUR! For comparison, Duke’s Zion Williamson scored 29 points on Saturday on 37 fewer shots.

No. 13 Kansas at Kansas State, Tuesday 9 p.m., ESPN (Game Center)

No. 21 LSU at Mississippi State, Wednesday 9 p.m., ESPN2 (Game Center)

Must-Listen

Kyler Murray remains an enigma, and we mean that in the best way possible. The Heisman Trophy winner and first-round pick of the Oakland Athletics announced last month that he will enter the NFL Draft. While that move does not preclude him from still playing baseball, Murray potentially choosing to go to the NFL Combine instead of MLB Spring Training could make his intentions clearer.

So in a Super Bowl-week appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, the host tried to get some answers from Murray. But Murray played his cards incredibly close to the vest, refusing to give anything away. Was this awkward or expert-level secrecy from Murray?

To listen to the full segment with Murray, tap or click here. And to check out a mock draft that has Kyler Murray going in the first round, go here.

Quick Catch-Up

In the spirit of the Super Bowl LIII and awards season, this edition of the Catch-Up will focus on Sunday’s best from every angle of the big game in Atlanta between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots.

Best Pregame Performance: Usain Bolt

Bolt is the fastest person ever. Over the course of his historic career, many fans have wondered how his 100 and 200-meter pace would translate to football’s 40-yard dash. Well wonder no more. At the Super Bowl Experience in Atlanta, Bolt, in sweats and sneakers, ran the 40. Result: 4.22 seconds.

Best Play

There was *checks notes* ONE touchdown scored in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever. It came in the 4th quarter via Patriots rookie running back Sony Michel, who set the postseason record for rookie touchdowns with 6.

Best Meme

As the game wore on into the second half, Rams punter Johnny Hekker drilled a 65-yard punt, a Super Bowl record. It was already his eighth punt in eight Los Angeles possessions, which got people thinking...if LA comes back, is Hekker the MVP? And has that ever happened before?

Best Performance

It wasn't the full rendition of Sweet Victory that everyone wanted, but Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and the characters Spongebob Squarepants still gave us a great tribute to the legendary cartoon.

Best Commercial

Much like the game on the field, it appeared that more often than not, the commercials produced some duds. However, it's the NFL itself that may have won the crown for best ad of the night with this star-studded gem.

Best Non-Football Moment

After a Super Bowl week in which NBA news significantly overshadowed the Patriots-Rams matchup, the lack of an exciting game had many on Twitter, including the best player in the world, hoping for a Woj Bomb.

Best Bet Outcome

A popular annual prop bet for the Super Bowl is the over/under on the national anthem. The line on Sunday was 1 minute, 50 seconds. BUT, Gladys Knight sang the final word, "Brave," twice. The first "brave" ended at the under, and the second ended at the over. Sportsbooks didn't know what to do. You can't make this stuff up.

Best American Football Performance outside of the Biggest Football Game in America: Timothy Weah

The American teenager played a whole 16 minutes as a substitute during Celtic’s match on Sunday morning in the Scottish Premiership. But the kid made them count, tallying an assist and a goal to turn a scoreless game into a 2-0 win, continuing his insane scoring streak since his loan move from Paris Saint-Germain.

Maybe that performance will push Weah into the starting XI. You can watch Weah and Celtic in both the Scottish Premiership and UEFA Europa League on B/R Live—here’s how.