Category: Sports News

The most anticipated event during the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend arguably is the AT&T Slam Dunk contest.

The showcase is a combination of showmanship and athletic prowess as four competitors put on a dunk-a-thon to impress judges and basketball fans in Los Angeles and around the world.

It's the finale of Saturday night events that include the State Farm 3-point shootout contest and Kia Shooting Stars.

REQUIRED READING: 2026 NBA All-Star Game: New format info, rosters, how to watch events

The Saturday showcase includes the Kia Shooting Stars, a showcase of legends teaming up in competition to knock down a host of seven different shots on the court in shortest time under 70 seconds.

The AT&T Slam Dunk contest places the winner's name amongst some of the best high-flying, showstopping players the NBA has ever seen.

Here's what you need to know including when the slam dunk contest starts, how to watch and more:

The Shooting Stars Challenge returns as a part of the NBA's All-Star Weekend today. The event will feature four teams of three competing against each other until a winner is decided.

Each of the teams consists of two current NBA players and an NBA legend. There's a general theme for each of the teams, including a team made up of family members and teams based on an affiliation to a college or team.

Dylan Harper scored the final points to give Team Melo a victory over Ron Harper Jr. and Team Austin in Game 1 of the Rising Stars Challenge. The brothers will be teaming up along with their father, Ron Harper Sr., for the Shooting Stars contest.

REQUIRED READING: What to expect and key predictions for NBA All-Star Weekend

The Duke Blue Devils will be well represented with Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel and Corey Maggette, who make up Team Cameron. The name is based on Duke's home arena, called Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren and Richard Hamilton will make up Team All-Star. With all three players having the opporunity have called thsemvles an All-Star during their respective careers. 

Team Knicks will consist of current teammates Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, teaming up with Allan Houston. Houston was named to two All-Star games during his time in New York in 2000 and 2001.

How to watch Kia Shooting Stars

• When: Saturday, Feb. 14, 5 ET
• Where: Intuit Dome (Inglewood, California)
• TV / Streaming: NBC & Peacock

Shooting Stars Challenge Rules

The Shooting Stars Challenge will have a two-round format with all four teams competing in the first round. The top two teams will compete in the final round.

The teams will compete one at a time and have 70 seconds to score points while rotating through seven designated shooting locations around the court.

All three players on the team shoot at each spot in a set order.  The team that finishes with the higher score in the final round will be crowned the challenge champion.

Who will compete in Shooting Stars Challenge?

Team All-Star: Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren and Richard Hamilton

Team Cameron: Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel and Corey Maggette.

Team Harper: Ron Harper Sr., Dylan Harper and Ron Harper Jr.

Team Knicks: Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Allan Houston

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA All-Star Kia Shooting Stars: Time, rules, how to watch, players

Kevin Durant said the question bothered him because everybody’s been talking about it, so he used his answer to take aim at others. 

When asked if he and the “old heads” team, which also features LeBron James, would play hard in this year’s NBA All-Star Game, which is once again debuting a new format, Durant called out Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic for their efforts in recent All-Star games. He wondered why they don’t face the same criticism his generation of Americans do. 

“They don’t care about the game at all. These dudes be laying on the floor, they shoot from halfcourt, but you’ve got to worry about the ‘old heads’ playing hard,” Durant told reporters in Houston on Wednesday, Feb. 11. “I can read between the lines.”

How about reading the room, first?

Ilia Malinin fell in the men's free skate program, ending his medal hopes. Lindsey Vonn crashed and broke her left leg during a women’s downhill race while Liu Jiayu was injured in a crash in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe qualifications. This photo gallery highlights some of the most dramatic falls at the Milan Winter Olympics.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

KOLKATA, India (AP) — Tom Banton hit an unbeaten 63 off 41 balls and Jofra Archer returned to form in England’s five-wicket win over Scotland at the T20 Cricket World Cup on Saturday.

England, desperately needing the victory following an unconvincing four-run win over Nepal and a loss to the West Indies, made 155-5 in 18.2 overs after the Scots were bowled out for just 152 in Kolkata.

Scotland wasted an ideal platform after getting to 90-3 in 10 overs, with the batters falling to mistimed sweep shots against the spinners.

England's top-order batters Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and captain Harry Brook fell for single digits, but Banton put on 66 with Jacob Bethell (32) and 46 with Sam Curran (28) to lift the team to second in Group C behind West Indies. It next plays Italy on Monday.

Salt drove loosely at Brandon McMullen and was caught at point before the pace bowler then took a smart catch over his shoulder at mid-off to dismiss Buttler as England slipped to 13-2.

Banton and Bethell then dug in well before Scotland hit back with two wickets in eight balls. Bethell slog swept and was caught at fine leg while Brook top-edged a scoop to fine leg.

Earlier, England hit back in the closing overs after Scotland had looked poised to set a challenging target when 113-3 midway through the 13th over.

The dismissal of captain Richie Berrington, who made 49, and Tom Bruce (24) in the space of four balls left Scotland struggling to accelerate late on.

Berrington and Bruce put on 71 in 41 deliveries before spinners Adil Rashid (3-36) and Liam Dawson (2-34) grabbed five wickets in four overs.

Fast bowler Archer, who was expensive against Nepal and West Indies, dismissed George Munsey and McMullen in a double-wicket second over.

Ireland thumps Oman

In Colombo, Lorcan Tucker’s blistering unbeaten 94 off 51 balls earned Ireland its first win in the tournament as it crushed Oman by 96 runs in Group B.

Tucker, leading the side after Paul Stirling was ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury, powered Ireland to this tournament’s highest score of 235-5.

Gareth Delany hit 56 and George Dockrell smashed three sixes off the final three balls in a blazing 35 not out off nine deliveries.

In reply, Oman was bowled out for 139 in 18 overs after losing the last eight wickets for just 42 runs.

Opener Aamir Kaleem (50) and Hammad Mirza (46) put on 73 for the third wicket, but once Kaleem holed out after scoring his 28-ball half century, the Oman innings folded quickly. Fast bowler Josh Little grabbed 3-16 while Matthew Humphreys (2-27) and Barry McCarthy (2-32) shared four wickets.

South Africa fields against New Zealand

In Ahmedabad, South Africa won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a game between the two unbeaten teams in Group D.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Valentine's Day has a funny way of bringing toxic relationships to light.

After Chris Paul announcement his retirement from the NBA on Feb. 13 following his release from the Raptors, scuttling his initial plan to retire after the season, the team that arguably expedited his retirement shared a thank you video on social media. The Clippers, the team whose jersey many fans will associate Paul with in the annals of NBA history, shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) after they effectively booted him from the team in December.

The thank you video from the team, posted after midnight ET, features a voiceover from Paul talking about his dreams for the Clippers cut in with some of his highlights, and ends with the words "FOREVER A LEGEND. THANK YOU, CP3."

Thank you, CP3 ♥️ pic.twitter.com/CUM8HyxXLO

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 14, 2026

REQUIRED READING: Chris Paul announces NBA retirement after sour ending to final season

Paul, of course, established himself as a franchise icon as part of the Lob City Clippers alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. But what was meant to be his swan song was cut short when he was effectively sent home from the team Dec. 3. At the time, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement:

"Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we've struggled. We're grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise."

It was later reported by ESPN's Shams Charania Paul wasn't on speaking terms with Clippers coach Tyronn Lue ahead of the ousting.

Paul was traded to the Raptors with the Brooklyn Nets as a third trade partner on Feb. 5 ahead of the NBA trade deadline. After he was waived by Toronto on Feb. 13, he announced his retirement at 40 years old and after 21 seasons.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paul retires months after being sent home by Clippers, gets thank you video

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — If it takes the young upstarts of the NBA, the eventual stars-to-be, to reinvigorate the NBA All-Star break, then we owe them considerable gratitude.

The NBA’s Rising Stars set the tone Friday, Feb. 13 in an engaging and entertaining showcase that culminated with a stellar performance from Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe to carry Team Vince — as in Vince Carter — to the Rising Stars championship. And as the NBA All-Star Game has faced widespread criticism for its lack of competitive spirit, let’s hope that the league’s biggest stars draw inspiration from its “Rising” ones.

In the semifinal round, Edgecombe scored his team’s final 10 points to win and carried Team Vince with 23 combined points across both games, including a pair of clutch, game-winning free throws in the championship.

“I appreciate people tuning in, even to the Rising Stars game,” Edgecombe told reporters after the game. “We just tried to make it fun, make it competitive, where it’s worth your time.”

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Trent Middleton Jr. scored on a driving layup, got fouled and made a free throw with 4.5 seconds remaining, lifting North Carolina A&T over Hampton 71-70 in the HBCU Classic on Friday night as part of NBA All-Star weekend.

It was the Aggies' first lead since they scored the game's first basket.

Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt's potential tying floater just missed at the buzzer.

Middleton's defense was key over the final 57 seconds. He had consecutive steals that led to baskets by the Aggies (10-14, 3-10 Coastal Athletic) after they trailed by eight with nearly six minutes to go.

Lewis Walker led the Aggies with 18 points, including four straight free throws that tied the game at 68-all. Middleton finished with 15 points, including 6 of 7 free throws, and Will Felton added 12 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting.

Hampton (12-14, 6-7) was outscored 9-2 over the final 43 seconds, getting just two free throws by Gaines-Wyatt. He and Xzavier Long led the Pirates with 17 points each. Elijah Kennedy had 13 points off the bench. They had five players in foul trouble, including Long and Josh Ogundele who fouled out.

The neutral court matchup counted as a conference game for the schools that traveled over 2,500 miles to play in Kia Forum, the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Both schools brought their bands, cheerleaders and mascots. The Pack Drumline that plays for Chicago Bulls and Chicago Sky games entertained before the game while Black fraternities and sororities showed off their dance moves. Chloe Bailey sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and the national anthem.

The HBCU Classic started five years ago during Black History Month to highlight historically Black colleges and universities as part of NBA All-Star weekend.

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Hi, everyone. It’s been a while since I had something to say here.

The past two years have been pretty difficult for me as a fan. In February 2024, I lost the most important Celtics fan in my life, my dad, and just a few months later, I lost my father-in-law, who was another lifelong Celtics fan. With them gone, a lot of the fun went out of rooting for the Cs.

But I’m back, and I’m looking at this column as a way of continuing the conversations I used to have with them.

Now that that’s out of the way, I want to talk about the Minnesota Vikings — no, seriously, this relates back to the Celtics, I promise.

When you look at the list of Vikings that have made All-Pro teams, you’ll notice that it’s dominated by offensive and defensive linemen. In fact, the top seven players are exclusively linemen. Ten of the sixteen Vikings in the Hall of Fame are linemen.

So what’s the point? Five of the top seven Vikings in terms of All-Pro selections and eight of the ten linemen in the Hall of Fame were scouted by the same guy, Jerry Reichow. The man knew what a good lineman looked like.

In other words, success starts off the field—or the court, as the case may be. It starts with people whose responsibilities include finding the right players, training them, and fitting them into the roster.

What makes the Celtics so interesting to me, this year, is that they’ve exceeded my expectations, and my expectations were higher than most of the fans I know. My thought was that the Cs would be a slightly better than .500 team, and thus would end up in the playoffs, because the NBA lets more than half the league into the playoffs every year.

I was not expecting them to be this good.

How did this happen?

The answer starts off the court. About a year and a half ago, this site published an in-depth look at the C’s player development staff. But that’s not the only piece of the puzzle — after all, player development coaches can only work with the players that they’re given. Indeed, the C’s have done a remarkable job finding diamonds in the rough, not just through the draft, but through trades and the bargain bin side of the free agent market that few people pay attention to.

Much of this can be attributed to the influence of Brad Stevens. Before Stevens took a job in the front office, the Celtics did a good job drafting (for example, they were smart enough to pick Jayson Tatum over Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball), but there were other aspects with room for improvement. The C’s player development crew likely missed an opportunity to help Guerschon Yabusele mature into a solid contributor, and pro scouting did not lead to the sort of quality free agent signings at the lower end of the salary scale that have become an expected part of the Celtics roster construction these days.

The Celtics, these days, have done a remarkable job matching the players they’ve signed and drafted to the team’s overall philosophy, and Baylor Scheierman is a classic example of this. The C’s were scouting Scheierman while he was still at South Dakota State, and they interviewed him when he declared for the draft in 2022. He took their feedback to heart, transferred to Creighton, and got Boston’s call with the final pick in the first round in 2024. He’s since made continuous improvement in his game, and has become a key piece of the Cs bench. Sure, it seemed like the Cs were taking a flyer on him in 2024, but they had been scouting him for years beforehand, and they had a pretty good idea what they were getting.

But there’s more to roster construction in today’s NBA than just good scouting and good player development. The salary cap, with its convoluted rules and its escalating penalties, has become a major factor in how rosters are assembled. With the most recent CBA, limits on trades and the ability to sign players were stiffened, so much so that even if the new owners of the team were willing to “pay” the tax (that is, to accept a lower profit from the Celtics than they would otherwise get), there were substantial limitations on how the Celtics could fill out the back end of their roster.

They therefore did a massive salary dump in the offseason, trading away Jrue Holiday for essentially Nicola Vucevic, and Kristaps Porzingis for nothing. Further work by Mike Zarren has put Boston in a position to squeak under the tax line entirely, thus breaking a string of tax-paying seasons that puts the Celtics on the hook for the CBA’s repeater penalties.

Mike Zarren has almost certainly had invitations to interview for GM jobs around the league, and he may have even been the C’s first choice when Danny Ainge stepped down, but he seems to like where he’s at, and his skill at navigating the new CBA has left the number two team in the East sitting under the tax line, with one of the best players in the NBA rehabbing an injury and nearing a return, and a dark horse MVP candidate leading the team.

Of course, the Celtics also have a gem in head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has skillfully managed to keep his players bought in during a season where there is no clear pecking order outside of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.

Believe me, this is an achievement in and of itself. Mazzulla has kept players that routinely draw “DNP-Coach’s Decision” lines in the box scores invested in their success and the team’s success, and honestly, I have no idea how he does this. When you’re down at the end of the bench, too often your competition isn’t just the other team, it’s the guys ahead of you on your own team.

The other thing that Mazzulla and his staff do is put their players in a position to succeed.

Here, Mazzulla is just continuing what Brad Stevens excelled at when he was on the bench. Stevens had a knack for running schemes that let players play to their strengths, and that’s a rarity in the NBA. Perhaps only Erik Spoelstra in Miami is in the same league as Mazzulla and Stevens when it comes to getting the most out of his players.

Ultimately, the C’s success comes down to the simple fact that there’s no salary cap on basketball IQ. You can hoard it Smaug style, cramming it into every nook and cranny of your organization from the general manager on down to the 15^th guy on the roster.