All-Star Weekend has officially begun.
Utah Jazz rookie Walker Kessler (coached by former Jazz All-Star Deron Williams) will take the court at Vivint Arena tonight for the NBA’s Rising Stars game.
Game time: 7 p.m. MT
TV: TNT
Streaming: Watch TNT, Sling TV, fuboTV
But there’s a lot more going on in Salt Lake City than just that.
The Salt Lake Tribune will keep you updated on all the happenings throughout the weekend, so check back often.
Jazz owners compete in 3-point contest to raise money for cancer research
Which of the Utah Jazz owners are better at shooting 3s? Ryan Smith or Dwyane Wade? Fans who attended the NBA Celebrity Game found that out.
Smith and Wade competed in a 3-point contest against each other to raise money for cancer research through 5 For The Fight. Each made shot raised $3,000.
Smith made 11 shots while Wade made 10, making the total $63,000. Watch the contest below.
NBA veterans, executives, church leaders participate in day of service
As part of All-Star weekend, the NBA partnered with various charities in the Salt Lake area for service projects and activities intended to benefit the community.
Utah Jazz principal owner Ryan Smith and former owner Gail Miller joined current and former NBA players at the Bishops Central Storehouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to prepare food boxes. Another service site on Friday was the Utah Food Bank, and the NBA also donated 500 backpacks and supplies for unsheltered people to Volunteers of America.
Salt Lake native Holly Rowe wins media award
Holly Rowe, an ESPN reporter and Salt Lake City native, received the 2023 Curt Gowdy Media Award on Friday.
Given to reporters who have made a significant impact on the sport, Rowe received the accolade for her work in electronic media. She has worked at ESPN since 1998 and recently added to her duties by working for the Utah Jazz as a sideline reporter.
“I started out by pulling cable for the Utah Jazz broadcast in this building,” Rowe said as she accepted the award in Vivint Arena. “To receive this award in this building is really crazy.”
Rowe started her college career at BYU before graduating from the University of Utah. She has been a play-by-play announcer for multiple sports, a sideline reporter and also a color commentator for an NBA game.
Dwyane Wade a finalist for the NBA Hall of Fame
Utah Jazz co-owner Dwyane Wade had a storied 16-year basketball career that included three championships with the Miami Heat, 13 All-Star selections and many other accolades. Now he’s that much closer to being enshrined among the greats.
Wade was named one of 12 finalists for the 2023 class of the NBA Hall of Fame on Friday.
“You know, sometimes when you’re young and you have a dream, a lot of people don’t believe in your dream,” he said. “It seems so far-fetched. But I’ve always been a dreamer.”
The full HOF class will be announced during the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, and be enshrined on Aug. 12.
Jazz owner Ryan Smith works on his 3-point shot
Smith is not only (obviously) a huge Jazz fan, but a basketball enthusiast in general. He took some time Friday morning to shoot corner 3-pointers from a rack before the Rising Stars players practiced at the Huntsman Center.
Smith and Wade will play on opposite teams in the All-Star celebrity game, and Smith used swishing four consecutive corner 3s as bragging rights over Wade. In a tweet, he said Wade will have competition in the celebrity game.
Smith also said every 3-pointer made during the game will help fund cancer research for 5 For The Fight.
Protesting anti-abortion legislation
Alliance for a Better Utah is using the increased attention on the state via All-Star weekend to shed light on legislation aiming to severely limit abortion in the state.
The organization is handing out multicolored condoms during the weekend that read, “Control your j*zz, abortion is about to get harder.” The condoms have a QR code and the hashtag #NBAAllStar.
The Utah legislature recently proposed to ban abortion clinics in the state.
(Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for STARRY) Jalen Rose makes an exclusive appearance during NBA All-Star Weekend to support STARRY's $50,000 donation towards the Operation S.U.C.C.E.S.S. program at the University of Utah's Black Cultural Center on February 17, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
University of Utah’s Black Cultural Center receives $50,000 donation
Former NBA player Jalen Rose was originally going to spend the All-Star break getting some rest and relaxation. But his plans changed when given the opportunity to present a sizable donation to the U of U’s Black Cultural Center.
STARRY, official soft drink of the NBA, donated $50,000 to the center “to support and empower the next generation of Black leaders,” per a news release. The money will find a semester of the center’s Operation S.U.C.C.E.S.S., a program that focuses on leadership development, and will the fund the cost of four fellows including scholarships, skill-building sessions and travel to visit and learn from other Black communities.
Walker Kessler raises up
The Utah Jazz center is showing off some deep touch at this morning’s practice. Kessler, went 10-for-50 last season from 3 at Auburn, but hasn’t attempted a 3-pointer yet in the NBA.
NBA Crossover and other events
Here’s a list of events around town and some road closures to avoid.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Convention center workers clean and prep displays during the NBA Crossover media preview party Feb. 16, 2023 inside the Salt Palace Convention Center in preparation for the weekend events. NBA Crossover is a multi-day interactive fan event that showcases basketball culture with player appearances, live performances and unique multimedia presentations focused on art, music, fashion, technology and entertainment as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Local Black entrepreneur wins grand prize in ‘Shark Tank’-like contest
Jenna White stood in a line with seven other Black entrepreneurs all waiting with bated breath for who would go home with a novelty check for tens of thousands of dollars. The third- and second-place winners were announced, and then came her name.
White, a Salt Lake City resident and owner of Empire Body Waxing, had a look of disbelief when she won the $50,000 prize. As she stood for photos with the novelty check, the song “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khalid played on the loudspeakers.
“I didn’t enter this competition thinking that I would win,” White said afterwards. “So the fact that I did, I’m just like, somebody should pinch me because it does not feel real.”
White and seven other Black entrepreneurs from Utah and around the country competed in a pitch competition presented by the NBA Foundation on Thursday at the Salt Palace Convention Center. They presented their businesses to a panel of four judges, one of which included Utah Jazz minority owner Ryan Sweeney.
Most of the contestants live somewhere in Utah. White said she was proud to represent her city.
“It feels good to represent Salt Lake like that, and the Black community in Salt Lake like that,” White said. “I literally don’t have words to describe it. It feels so good.”
The NBA Foundation started in August 2020 in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. Thursday’s pitch competition was the first of its kind.
Kimmy Paluch, managing partner of Beta Boom and an SLC resident, was one of the judges. She said they were evaluating how well the contestants knew the problems and solutions addressed by their products, how well they knew their market, how well they knew their market, and how unique their business is.
Paluch said White hit all of those marks.
“Beyond that, she was very entertaining,” Paluch said of White.
