Everything to know about the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game this weekend

The NBA All-Star Game will have plenty of Milwaukee connections this weekend. Here's what to know:

When and where is the 2023 NBA All-Star Game?

The 72nd NBA All-Star Game will air from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT Sunday, Feb. 19.

Are the Bucks ever going to host an all-star game?

The Bucks have submitted a proposal to host the game before but haven't been awarded the showcase yet; it stands to reason Fiserv Forum will eventually be selected for a future game. The 2024 game will take place in Indianapolis, a make-good for when the 2021 showcase was moved to Atlanta due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's unclear when the destination for the 2025 all-star game will be announced. Phoenix is among the franchises interested in hosting.

Milwaukee has only hosted one all-star game in its history, the 1977 game at the Milwaukee Arena. Fiserv Forum opened for the 2018-19 season.

Who are the Milwaukee Bucks all-stars?

Giannis Antetokounmpo will make his seventh all-star game appearance, the most in Bucks history. By virtue of having the most votes among fans in the Eastern Conference, Antetokounmpo was selected as one of two "captains" for the occasion; he and fellow captain LeBron James will pick their teams from the pool of NBA all-stars an hour before tip-off.

Jrue Holiday will make his second all-star game and first with the Bucks. It's been a full 10 years since his last appearance, when he was selected as a member of the 76ers in 2013.

How will Giannis pick his all-star team?

There's a little bit of mystery to the format since it's been moved to just before the game itself, different from when Giannis was captain in years past (on two previous occasions).

Since three frontcourt players and two guards have been identified as starters, it stands to reason that he'll still choose first his starters among the eight other players selected for that honor, alternating with LeBron James for those players.

The pool of starters includes three players chosen as injury-replacement starters: Utah's Lauri Markkanen (Zion Williamson), Philadelphia's Joel Embiid (Kevin Durant) and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant (Steph Curry). Others who were voted as starters include Boston's Jayson Tatum, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell, Denver's Nikola Jokić, Dallas's Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, who was selected in the East as a member of the Nets but now plays for the Mavericks.

Antetokounmpo has previously drafted Embiid twice as a starter. He also selected a teammate, Khris Middleton, with the first pick he had among reserves, on both opportunities, so one would expect a similar treatment for Holiday. Last year, the two played on opposite sides, with Antetokounmpo even blocking Middleton in the game.

Players listed as reserves this year are Jaylen Brown (Celtics), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls), Julius Randle (Knicks), Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), Bam Adebayo (Heat), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Damian Lillard (Blazers), Paul George (Clippers), Jaren Jackson (Grizzlies), Domantas Sabonis (Kings), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves) and De'Aaron Fox (Kings). Siakam, Edwards and Fox were added to the roster to replace those who were injured.

Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla and his staff will coach Team Giannis. Team LeBron has won the last five all-star games.

The draft will take place on TNT.

When was the last Wisconsin player to appear in an all-star game?

Tyrese Haliburton, who attended high school at Oshkosh North and played college basketball at Iowa State, is the first Wisconsin high-school alumnus to play in an NBA all-star game since 2009, when Devin Harris (Wauwatosa East and University of Wisconsin) made the game for the New Jersey Nets.

Marquette University alumni Jimmy Butler (2015-18, 2020, 2022) and Dwyane Wade (2005-16, 2019) have been regulars at the all-star game.

Antetokounmpo brothers will coach the Celebrity Game, and Arike Ogunbowale will be there, too

The rosters for the Ruffles Celebrity Game are out, and Giannis Antetokounmpo will serve as one of the coaches along with brothers Thanasis and Alex. The trio also competed last year in the skills competition.

The Antetokounmbros will team with Olympic gold medal alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, facing off with a team coached by WNBA champion Lisa Leslie, rapper Fat Joe and Houston Astros star Alex Bregman.

Wade will serve as one of the honorary captains. The Antetokounmpo brothers will coach Team Dwyane.

Milwaukee's own Arike Ogunbowale, the Divine Savior Holy Angels alumna who delivered a singular performance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament for Notre Dame, will appear in the game for Team Dwyane. She's a two-time WNBA all-star and plays for the Dallas Wings.

Giannis and his brothers are back in the Skills Competition, too

Reprising their appearance from last year's all-star weekend, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks teammate and older brother Thanasis and youngest brother Alex will team up for the Kia Skills Challenge, one of three teams in the field.

The brothers took third of three last year. The challenges will test the participants on a "relay" challenge, passing and shooting, and the Bucks trio will face off with three players from the hometown Jazz and three more NBA rookies.

Tyler Herro and Tyrese Haliburton will compete in the 3-point challenge

There won't be any Milwaukee Bucks in the reported lineup for the 3-point competition, but there will be a decided Wisconsin flavor. Wisconsin high-school alumni Tyler Herro (Whitnall, Miami Heat) and Haliburton (Oshkosh North, Indiana Pacers) will both be in the field.

Herro and Haliburton graduated high school in 2018, and remarkably, neither won Mr. Basketball in the state that season.

The "Starry 3-Point Contest" will take place Saturday, Feb. 18, as part of the All-Star Saturday festivities, with a 7 p.m. CT start time at Vivint Arena (the 3-point competition follows the skills competition). It will air on TNT. The AT&T Slam Dunk competition follows. That competition features Rockets player Kenyon Martin Jr., the son of former Bucks player Kenyon Martin.

What's the full schedule of events during All-Star weekend?

All times central.

4:30 p.m. Friday — Finalists announced for Class of 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame. The list of eligible people includes several with Wisconsin connections, including Dwyane Wade, Marques Johnson, Michael Finley, Bo Ryan, Pau Gasol and, technically, Dirk Nowitzki (who was drafted by the Bucks in 1998). The inductees are announced in April.

6 p.m. Friday — Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game. Will feature Giannis, Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo as coaches and Milwaukee native Arike Ogunbowale playing in the game (along with Wade).

8 p.m. Friday — Jordan Rising Stars Game. Features a number of rookies and second-year players, though none with the Bucks.

3 p.m. Saturday — NBA x HBCU Classic. The Southern men's basketball team takes on Grambling State at the University of Utah, and Grambling State features a number of Milwaukee players. Virshon Cotton, who played at Milwaukee King High School, has started 21 games this year for Grambling and averages 8.4 points per game, with a team-leading 39 makes from 3-point range. Payton Parrish (Milwaukee King) and Quintin Murrell (Milwaukee King) come off the bench. Terrence Lewis, who played at Milwaukee Riverside and was the area boys basketball player of the year in 2016, has played in three games this year. Head coach Donte Jackson played at Milwaukee Hamilton and briefly at UW-Milwaukee.

7 p.m. Saturday — State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. Includes Kia Skills Challenge, Starry 3-Point Contest and the AT&T Slam Dunk competition.

2 p.m. Sunday — NBA G League Next Up Game. Features several players from the G-League, though none with the Wisconsin Herd.

6:30 p.m. Sunday — All-Star Draft Presented by Jordan Brand. For the first time, team "captains" will select the teams right before the draft, and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be one of the two (along with LeBron James).

7:30 p.m. Sunday — 72nd NBA All-Star Game. Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks in NBA all-star game; Giannis, brothers part of weekend events