Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, will suit up for the West in the 2017 Celebrity All Star game. (Photo : Getty Images/Streeter Lecka)
Among the proceedings of NBA's annual All Star Weekend is a celebrity game. While this contest is often overshadowed by the three-point shootout or the dunk contest, it is still a spectacle to watch out for, as it pits media personalities, NBA and WNBA greats, and even team owners against one another. The respective rosters for the West and East team have now been released and a number of names featured may come as a surprise.
The team for the West will feature a variety of actors including Miles Brown, Tom Cavanagh, Jiang Jinfu, Anthony Mackie, Romeo Miller, Hasan Minhaj, and Master P. Aside from them, celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez as well as recording artist Andy Grammer will also line up for the West in the celebrity All Star Game. On the NBA side of things, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will feature alongside the Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker, according to CBS Sports.
On the other hand, the East team will feature more basketball personalities compared to the West's approach of fielding media stars. Former NBA D-League player Brandon Armstrong will suit up to represent the East together with basketball legends Oscar Schmidt, and Jason Williams, WNBA star Lindsay Whalen, and Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, Yahoo Sports reported. Celebrities such as Win Butler, Nick Cannon, Rachel DeMita, Ansel Elgort, Caleb McLaughlin, Peter Rosenberg, and Kris Wu will also represent the East in the game.
Both teams have also enlisted the help of other famous names to help them bring home the glory come Feb. 19. The coaching team for the Western team will consist of ESPN host Michael Smith, TV personality Rocsi Diaz, and Golden State Warriors stalwart Draymond Green. On the other hand, the Eastern team will be coached Smith's fellow host Jemele Hill, recording artist Fat Joe, and Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry.
This year's celebrity All Star game will feature a number of talented and passionate players, although fans are unsure about how it will stack up to previous years' showings with the absence of fan favorite Kevin Hart. He had chosen to retire from this competition following his fourth straight MVP-winning performance in 2015, but was the head coach for "Team USA" last year. 2016 MVP Win Butler, as previously mentioned, will still feature in this year's game though.
Watch the highlights of last year's Celebrity All Star game in the video below:
