The NBA Los Angeles All-Star Weekend featured a slate of performances from music legends headlined by rapper Ludacris, according to the league and NBC Sports.
The three-time Grammy award winner Ludacris performed during All-Star Saturday, before the NBA Slam Dunk contest at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome. The All-Star Saturday extravaganza for fans began at 3 p.m. (MST), airing on NBC and Peacock. In addition, All-Star Weekend fans got a rare live performance of the NBA On NBC Sports theme song “Roundball Rock” from its composer and former “Entertainment Tonight” co-host John Tesh.
Team Knicks won the return of the Shooting Stars competition, giving them two trophies this season (they also won the NBA Cup), but not the one they are still aiming for. The keys to the win were twofold. First, they had the clutch Jalen Brunson shooting shots. The other key, the Knicks “celebrity” passer was Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father and a long-time NBA assistant coach, who knows how to throw a pass into a shooter’s pocket. Other teams were not so lucky.
Inside the Intuit Dome, the energy was flat most of the night. The fans on the famed “Wall” — a group now called The Swell — tried, but even a nothing-but-the-hits, high-energy set from Ludacris could not get most of the fans to stand or make much noise. It was a passive crowd.