The NBA All-Star Weekend has officially tipped off and it’s already been a place to see some of our favs as the Celebrity Game brought out GloRilla, Queen Latifah, DJ Mustard and others.
Comedian and host Anthony Anderson took on coaching duties with his team facing off against that of NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo. The latter’s team reigned victorious with actor Rome Flynn defending his Celebrity Game MVP throne with his second win.
Other celebrities who participated included actor Keegan-Michael Key, NFL star Amon-Ra St. Brown and the most decorated MLB star of the decade, Mookie Betts.
Toronto Raptors star Brandon Ingram was in the crowd to support Big Glo with big smile, capturing her hoop skills. He even gave her pointers during halftime, telling her to take “20 more shots.”
Love Island standout and model Olandria Carthen was also on hand to cheer on her man, Nic Vansteenberghe, in a body hugging one piece. Slay!
Nicolandria weren’t the only Love Island alums in the house. Kordell Beckham was also on hand as the Wing Stop green carpet host with the most; grabbing all the inside scoop from the celebs in attendance.
As for Flynn’s continued dominance in the annual showing, the Emmy-winning actor pulled out some spectacular moves during the game, including an alley-oop off the backboard to former NBA player Tacko Fall for a monster slam.
He scored 17 points in the game and shot a stunning 50 percent on the evening, including going 3 for 7 from behind the arc. Though many celebs come to have a little fun, Flynn clearly did not come to play.
“This is the second time, y’all,” Flynn said. “Glory to God. Great turnout. Shout out to my teammates, shout out to Jeremy Lin for playing, a little bit. And Giannis man, you really coached us, coached us up.”
Giannis definitely had his work cut out for him stepping into the coach’s box and he told ESPN’s Monica McNutt that it was a new kind of stress.
“This is exhausting, this is how coach Doc (Rivers) feels?,” he said. “I just enjoy winning. But it’s definitely hard like, making the subs. Not everybody is going to play. But I think everyone did a good job just playing hard and playing to win.”
Giannis also took time to give back, joining celebrities like Kelly Rowland, Taylour Paige and Lizzo for the NBA Cares x Baby 2 Baby Day of Service where volunteers packed more than 1.3 million essentials for distrubition to those in need. Along with the Antetokounmpo family, legacy brand Huggies was also on hand as a sponsor for the meaningful afternoon.
“Huggies is proud of our long‑standing partnership with Baby2Baby and the meaningful impact of today’s maternal health care kit assembly,” said Evan Scanzera, Huggies U.S. Senior Brand Manager. “At Huggies, caring for families is at the heart of everything we do, and having Giannis Antetokounmpo as our partner amplifies that commitment. Together with Baby2Baby, we’re working to ensure more parents and babies get the essential support they need to feel protected and cared for.”
All-Star weekend continues tonight with the Shooting Stars, three-point and Dunk contests starting at 5pm ET.
