Which NBA All-Star Weekend events can you bet? How to bet dunk contest, 3-point shootout & more
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The NBA All-Star Weekend is a festival of basketball. It encapsulates all that makes the game so popular with its fanbase. Well, except defense, that is. Like Bill Murray in Space Jam, nobody at the NBA All-Star Game is there to play defense.
Other sports have tried to capture that same level of excitement during their midseason classics, but they all take a back seat to the action offered during the NBA's All-Star festivities.
Speaking of action, there's plenty of it to be had for bettors during NBA All-Star Weekend. From the dunk competition, to the 3-point shooting contest, to the game itself between Team LeBron and Team Giannis, bettors will find no shortage of odds to be played all weekend long.
All of the leading online sportsbooks are offering betting lines on the festivities surrounding the NBA All-Star Game. Here's a look at the wagering opportunities presented by the NBA All-Star Weekend, along with some betting advice on how to play each wager.
LeBron a future GM?
If NBA All-Star Games are any indication, then LeBron James is establishing impeccable credentials to serve as an NBA GM once his playing days come to an end.
Five times he's been deemed with the task to select the roster for one of the teams in the NBA All-Star Game. His teams are 5-0 on those games.
Team LeBron is set as 3-point favorites over Team Giannis at FanDuel Sportsbook in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Three of the last five NBA All-Star Games were decided by three points or less.
The team captains will select their rosters an hour prior to start of Sunday's game. LeBron will be playing in his record 19th NBA All-Star Game. The NBA's all-time scoring leader is also the all-time leader in points (413) and field goals (172) in NBA All-Star Game play.
However, Giannis is the all-time leader in scoring average (29.0 points per game) in NBA All-Star Game competition.
Pick: Team LeBron -3 (-110).
Expect a Big Mac dunk display
Let's face facts - the NBA dunk competition, once the reason why everyone tuned into NBA All-Star Weekend, has lost some of its luster. The big stars in the game no longer participate, which took away much of the sheen from this event.
Secondly, the game has also changed. It's about the 3-ball now, and that factor is reflected in NBA All-Star Weekend. It's the 3-point shooting contest that will attract the eyeballs of viewers this weekend.
The 76ers are signing Mac McClung to a 2-way #NBA contract! 🔥🔥🔥
— Dunk League (@DunkLeague) February 14, 2023
MAC IS BACK 💥 pic.twitter.com/AI8wINcQv5
Looking to pump up the jam of the dunk contest, the NBA is thinking outside the Association for this year's event. For the first time, they are including a G-League player among the competitors, guard Mac McClung of the Delaware Blue Coats. Just 6-foot-2, McClung's sensational dunks have been compiled into numerous viral videos. He's a social media sensation.
$1,250 BET ON CAESARS
CAESARS SPORTSBOOK (NOT MD, OH)
$1,500 BET ON CAESARS
CAESARS OHIO
$1,500 BET ON CAESARS
CAESARS MARYLAND
Competing against three NBA regulars, those guys are where McClung desires to be. Given a national stage with all of the NBA front office types watching, you think he might be just a bit motived to put on a show?
DraftKings is showing McClung as the +125 favorite to win the event. In the vernacular of the competition, this one should be a slam dunk.
Pick: Mac McClung (+125).
Which former King will be crowned?
In the 3-point contest, it's two ex-Sacramento Kings who are getting the love from the oddsmakers. If you're thinking along the same wavelength, the decision you face is whether to go with the hot hand, or the proven commodity?
Buddy Hield of the Indiana Pacers is statistically the leader coming into this competition. His 42.6% success rate from beyond the arc is eighth in the NBA and the best among the eight players entered in this event.
However, this is the first season in which Hield has topped 40% from long range since 2018-19. His old Sacamento teammate and current Indiana teammate, Tyrese Haliburton, has gone over that number from 3-point range in each of his four previous NBA seasons. He's just under that mark this season at 39.9%, leaving Haliburton tied for 35th in the NBA.
Hield is the +410 favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. Haliburton is the fifth betting choice at +625. Just behind him is the hometown favorite, Lauri Markkanen of the Jazz. He's at +700.
Markkanen is 22nd in the NBA, draining 41.2% of his long balls. That's a personal best for the Finn, who shows a career average of 37.3% from 3-point range.
While there are some big-name players in this event such as Damian Lillard of Portland and Jayson Tatum of Boston, the fact of the matter is that no other competitor ranks among the top-45 in the NBA in 3-point shooting.
Pick Tyrese Haliburton (+625).
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