There’s a lot to get excited about when it comes to NBA All-Star Weekend. Just a little over a month away, the league’s best will descend on Chicago for the annual event that showcases everything that makes the game great, from dunks and three-pointers to the players who have taken their talent to the next level this season.
There’s also some silly fun thrown in the mix for good measure. For instance, the annual NBA Celebrity All-Star Game, which typically features a combination of local luminaries and whatever hoops-loving stars of stage and film they can convince to show off their skills on national television.
We don’t have any clarity on the roster that will take the court in Chicago next month, but on Friday, we did learn who has been selected to coach the respective teams: Michael Wilbon and Stephen A. Smith. Both are ESPN personalities, while Wilbon is a Chicago native who is clearly eager to represent his hometown.
Tickets are now on sale for the #NBAAllStar Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles and #NBAAllStar Practice & Media Day presented by AT&T.
The Celebrity Game will feature Chicago native @RealMikeWilbon and First Takeβs @stephenasmith as coaches.https://t.co/YzOuxnITRF pic.twitter.com/LCBffN0I6T
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) January 10, 2020
True to form, neither wasted any time before they started talking smack on Twitter. SAS was up first, promising that he’ll get at least one technical (and possibly thrown out) and that he’ll be the best-dressed coach since Pat Riley.
Guess who is coaching in the All-Star Celebrity Game!!!! πππ pic.twitter.com/fatFdy0cNK
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 10, 2020
Wilbon wasn’t going to take that lying down, going right at Smith’s beloved Knicks and touting the superiority of the Bulls in the NBA’s pantheon, as well as his own superiority in the custom suit department.
Chicago. All-Star Celebrity Game. May the best coach win, @stephenasmith π€ pic.twitter.com/44qILv9tZc
— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) January 10, 2020
Unfortunately, we don’t have any clarity on which celebrities might participate this year in the event, but given its history, you can count on a combination of pop singers, actors, retired athletes, and the occasional semi-high-ranking Washington politico.