NBA All Star weekend top picks & betting preview | Saturday 02/19

NBA All star weekend is in Cleveland this year and it should be an entertaining night. Beyond having all the stars in town to showcase their talents, the NBA has altered some of the formats that should overall make the weekend more seamless than it has been in years past.

This article will cover the aspects of the weekend BettingPlanet finds most interesting and this year, they will all be on Saturday. Picks for these events are not that serious as all these events are pretty random on any given year. They are fun to have some money on and while unpredictable, can be pretty profitable.

NBA Dunk Contest Betting Picks

The dunk contest is the best show of the night. This year, four young athletic stars in Jalen Green, Obi Toppin, Cole Anthony and Juan Toscano Anderson are all competing. They all have the potential to win and have some crazy in game dunks showcasing their athleticism.

The top pick is going to be Obi Toppin at +210. He definitely has the ability to win and already was the runner-up last year. He has the second highest odds and plays in New York City, so he may have more buzz than the other contestants.

The only worrying thing is that the betting favorite, Jalen Green, is rumored to be incorporating NFT’s into his dunk. That could give him extra points for creativity but at +130 his odds aren’t high enough for us to bite.

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3 Point Contest Top Picks

The eight contestants for the 3 point contest are all knockdown shooters and it’s hard to differentiate them. Only two of the contestants are top 10 in the NBA in 3 point percentage however, and they are Desmond Bane and Luke Kennard. Both players are great shooters and definitely have the acumen to win it all. Bane’s odds are +600and Kennard’s are +550so they are definitely worth a small bet.

Fred Van Vleet of the Toronto Raptors is the favorite at +400. No one besides Steph Curry has made more threes than Van Vleet but at +400, there is better value elsewhere. One of those spots is veteran C.J. McCollum. He is a sharpshooter and has always been good from three. At +1000, it’s worth considering him as well.

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Skills Challenge Betting Preview

The Skills Challenge is the weirdest competition of the three but also potentially the most predictable. It rewards handling and passing accuracy so you can somewhat judge who will be good at it. The format is different this year and will feature three teams of three duking it out.

The three Antetokounmpo brothers are all a team. While Giannis is very skillful, I’m not certain of the other two and in a competition that doesn’t necessarily require insane athleticism, it’s best to bet elsewhere.

The next team is three Cavs players in Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Playing at home and with odds of +225, they are interesting. However, Allen and Mobley are not the fastest and the other team is probably the most tempting.

Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes and Josh Giddey make up team rookie and are the favorites of this competition. At +200, there is some value in betting them. They are rookies, so they will probably be motivated to make a name for themselves. It’s a crapshoot, but this would be our betting pick.

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Overall, it should be a fun weekend of basketball. These contests are all meant to be fun so limit your bets and don’t take it too seriously if one judge gives your guy a 9 instead of a 10.