NBA All-Star 2018 Will Reach Fans in 215 Countries and Territories in 50 Languages

ANTETOKOUNMPO baskebtall outside NBA

ANTETOKOUNMPO, DRAGIC, EMBIID, HORFORD HIGHLIGHT GLOBAL REACH OF 67TH NBA ALL-STAR GAME

NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2018 – NBA All-Star 2018 will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets.  This includes Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET, the 67th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET, as well as behind-the-scenes coverage and interviews throughout the week.


Below are international highlights of this year’s global basketball celebration:

·         2018 NBA All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; parents from Nigeria), Goran Dragic (Miami Heat; Slovenia), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), Al Horford (Boston Celtics; Dominican Republic) and Kyrie Irving (Celtics; Australia) are among the 14 international players participating in Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and/or the 67th NBA All-Star Game. 

·         For the fourth consecutive year, Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars will have a USA vs. World format, featuring 10 players each from the U.S. and abroad.  The World Team’s 10 players hail from nine different countries and include five players who participated as campers in Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program: Embiid (BWB Africa 2011), Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls; Finland; BWB Europe 2014/BWB Global 2015), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets; Canada; BWB Global 2015), Frank Ntilikina (New York Knicks; France; BWB Europe 2015/BWB Global 2016) and Dario Saric (76ers; Croatia; BWB Europe 2010).

·         The NBA and FIBA will conduct the fourth annual BWB Global Camp from Feb. 16-18 at the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice facility, with Nike serving as the official partner.  Current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players, including Dragic, Horford, Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers; Lithuania), Timofey Mozgov (Brooklyn Nets; Russia) and Sam Dekker (LA Clippers; U.S.), will coach the top 67 high school age campers from 36 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.  For the first time in BWB history, the camp will feature nine current prospects from NBA Academies, the league’s network of elite basketball training centers around the world for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S.  Select portions of the camp will be live-streamed on the NBA’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/NBA and FIBA’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/FIBA.



·         For the first time, fans around the world can live-stream NBA All-Star 2018 Media Day on Saturday, Feb. 17 at mediaday.nba.com.  As part of NBA All-Star 2018 Media Day, the NBA and Cisco will present live interviews for international media with four NBA All-Stars and NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum via Cisco WebEx Conference (online video conference). 

·         515 international media members from 44 countries and territories are heading to Los Angeles to cover NBA All-Star 2018. 

·         10 international television networks and websites from China, France, Greece, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East, Poland and Spain will do live onsite commentary.

·         Eight television networks from central Asia, Indonesia, Japan, Sweden, Thailand and Turkey will broadcast NBA All-Star remotely for the first time.

·         For the first time, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and the 67th NBA All-Star Game will be broadcast live with Hindi commentary in India.

·         Fans around the world can participate in the NBA All-Star experience through NBA League Pass and the NBA App.  NBA TV international will take fans in 138 countries and territories behind the scenes during the week’s events.  

·         Fans around the world will be able to vote for the MVPs of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2018 presented by Ruffles (via SMS and Twitter), Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars (via NBA.com, SMS and Twitter) and the 67th NBA All-Star Game (via NBA.com, SMS and Twitter).  Fans in China can vote on NBA.com.

·         The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2018 presented by Ruffles on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. ET will feature Canadian Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse; Bucks co-owner and Moroccan-American Marc Lasry; Dominican-American actress and activist Dascha Polanco; Canadian actor Drew Scott; and Chinese actor, singer and music producer Kris Wu.

·         NBA G League USA, a team of top talent from the NBA’s official minor league, will play the Mexico National Team in the NBA G League International Challenge presented by Kumho Tire.  The first international exhibition game at NBA All-Star will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will air live in Mexico.

·         For the first time, international influencers from Argentina, Australia, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South Korea, and more will participate in the NBA All-Star International Celebrity-Influencer All-Access Program, receiving behind-the-scenes access to the weekend’s events.



About NBA All-Star 2018
NBA All-Star 2018 in Los Angeles will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game.  The 67th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Staples Center, will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages.  TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 16th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 33rd year of NBA All-Star coverage.  Staples Center will also host Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 16 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 17.  The NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles, Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Practice and NBA G League International Challenge presented by Kumho Tire will take place at Verizon Up Arena at Los Angeles Convention Center.

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