The 2023 Ruffles® NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will feature actors, comedians, Grammy® Award-winning musicians, athletes, and more, according to a press release from ESPN and the NBA. The game will air exclusively on ESPN and be streamed on the ESPN App on Friday, February 17, at 7 p.m. ET from the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ryan Smith, the governor of the Utah Jazz, and Dwyane Wade, a three-time NBA Champion and a minority owner of the Jazz, will serve as honorary captains. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP and captain of the 2023 NBA All-Star Game, along with his brothers Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo, and three-time Olympian Lindsey Vonn will lead Team Dwyane. Team Ryan will be led by Lisa Leslie, a two-time WNBA champion, rapper and actor Fat Joe, and Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.
Playing in the game is 21 Savage, Janelle Monae, Cordae, actors Simu Liu, Sinqua Walls, Everett Osborne, Latin global music icon and actor Nicky Jam and reggaeton artist Ozuna, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, 11-time MLB All-Star Albert Pujols, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live correspondent Guillermo Rodriguez, tennis star Frances Tiafoe, WWE Superstar The Miz, Brazilian TV host Marcos Mion and content creator Jesser.
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The current Celebrity Game MVP, Alex Toussaint, a Puma athlete and coach, will make a second appearance, while comedians Hasan Minhaj and Kane Brown, a five-time American Music Award winner, will make their third appearances in the Celebrity Game. Actor and NBA brand ambassador for India Ranveer Singh will make his first appearance. The Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, a two-time WNBA All-Star, and the Phoenix Mercury’s Diamond DeShields, a WNBA champion, will both be on the opposing rosters.
This year’s innovation is the opportunity for each team captain to initiate “Ruffles Crunch Time,” which begins a two-minute period during which point values are doubled. A team will also be able to add a great NBA player to their roster mid-game in Celebrity Game’s “Unlock a Legend” feature when it returns in 2023. Visit the NBA Celebrity Game website to learn more about the occasion.
Ryan Smith and Dwyane Wade, the team’s captains, will compete during the game in gameplay activations to raise up to $100,000 for the 5 For The Fight Cancer Research Internship, which is a partnership between Howard University and Ruffles.
