NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND:
Albert Bainbridge IV
The 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend is here as the festivities get underway in Indianapolis, Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse beginning on Friday night with the Rising Stars Challenge and the Celebrity All-Star game.
While the 73rd annual All-Star Game wraps up the weekend on Sunday at 8 p.m., bettors will likely have their sights set the night before on the Starry Three-Point Contest and AT&T Slam Dunk Contest.
However, this year’s All-Star Weekend will feature something different as Golden State Warriors point guard and two-time MVP, Steph Curry, will take on New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu in one-on-one three-point competition in between the traditional three-point competition and the dunk contest.
Here’s my betting advice for all three All-Star events on Saturday night in Indiana.
Three-Point Contest: Malik Beasley (+600)
Odds: Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton (+500), Malik Beasley and Trae Young (+600), Jalen Brunson (+700), Lauri Markkanen and Karl-Anthony Towns (+800) and Donovan Mitchell (+1100)
Last year, I nailed it with selecting former Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard to win the event at +425 (Bet $100 to win $425).
Now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, Lillard is the consensus odds-on-favorite to repeat as champion of the competition.
However, I’m taking his teammate, Malik Beasley, to take home this year’s crown.
In his first season in Milwaukee, Beasley has been effective in his current role, as he’s started all 53 games he’s played in for the team.
More impressively, Beasley is shooting a career-high 44.9 percent from behind the arc, good for fifth-best in the entire NBA and the highest mark of the eight competitors. There’s no denying that Beasley’s got some stiff competition in the reigning champion Lillard and those who have participated (Mitchell, Young and Markkanen) or won the event prior, as Towns did so in 2022.
Bet on Beasley here as one of the league’s best shooters this season takes home the award to start the evening. BetRivers has the best available odds for Beasley to win the three-point competition at +600 (Bet $100 to win $600).
Steph Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu Three-Point Contest: Curry (-265)
Odds: Curry (-265), Ionescu (+200)
Potentially the most intriguing event of the entire weekend could be when two of the best three-point shooters square off in the inaugural head-to-head contest.
One one side, you have Ionescu, a guard for the New York Liberty, who was one of the WNBA’s best three-point shooters last season at nearly 45 percent from deep.
While she’s shooting from the WNBA three-point line, but she’s also going up against arguably the best shooter in history in Curry.
He has the most three-pointers made in league history (3,631), a feat which he passed Ray Allen over for the top spot over two years ago at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.
The odds tell you that the oddsmakers believe that Ionescu can put up a fight against the best shooter the NBA has ever seen.
Even though I think she’ll be able to hold her own and stay within arms reach of Curry, you won’t find me betting against the all-time three-point leader in NBA history in a shooting contest.
FanDuel Sportsbook has Curry as a lofty favorite of -265 (Bet $265 to win $100) to win the event.
Odds: Slam Dunk Contest: Jacob Toppin (+600)
Mac McClung (-190), Jaylen Brown (+525), Jacob Toppin (+600) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (+800)
The night concludes with the dunk contest following the first two events.
Similar to Lillard, I was all-in on the little known McClung a year ago, who stole the show last season and won the dunk competition in Utah at +450 odds despite only playing in four NBA games in his career.
While a majority of the bets will likely be on 25-year-old to repeat as champion, I’m riding with Toppin here.
Similar to McClung, he’s only appeared in four NBA games so far in his career, playing a season-high 12 minutes against the Mavericks on Feb. 8.
Despite that, Toppin has quite the highlight reel of his dunks from when he was at the University of Kentucky.
At 6/1 odds, I believe that the 23-year-old rookie will shine in Indiana on Saturday night, joining his brother and former Knick, Obi Toppin (2021 champion), as the only pair of brothers to both win the NBA slam dunk contest.
FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the longest odds for Toppin at +600 (Bet $100 to win $600) to take home the trophy this weekend.