NBA All-Star Weekend tips including 152/1 treble!
Before becoming a Sports Journalist for Free Super Tips, Aaron spent three years studying Sports Journalism at the University of Sunderland while taking in the Black Cats' 'glory years' under Martin O'Neill. Now back in Northern Ireland he turns niche stats into predictions for FST, while he's one of the few people on this island who is equally comfortable at Windsor Park and the Aviva.
The NBA’s biggest names are heading for San Francisco this weekend for All-Star weekend. The league continues to tweak the All-Star game to make it competitive, with a completely overhauled format in store this year.
The league has stuck with Saturday’s contest treble-header, which tends to be the standout offering from the break. I’ve got the weekend’s action covered, with a 152/1 treble for Saturday plus 15/4 and 22/1 tips for Sunday.
NBA All-Star Saturday tips
Three-Point Contest winner – Darius Garland at 5/1
Damian Lillard leads the eight-man field as he looks to win this event for the third year running. While the number of three-point efforts is on the up across the league, Lillard’s 65% conversion rate in the last two contests is lower than each of the five previous winners.
That suggests Lillard’s crown could be up for grabs. Cleveland’s Darius Garland looks like the pick of his rivals at 5/1. He has the best shooting percentage of any of the eight players, making 43.1% of his efforts from deep.
Garland heads into the contest in good form, shooting at 62% or better in three of his previous six. He’s a high-volume three-point shooter with an excellent conversion rate, so this contest should suit him.
Skills Contest Winner – Team Spurs at 2/1
This is the fourth season of the revamped Skills Contest and the NBA seems to have caught on to the trend. All three editions have featured teammates from the host city beating players thrown together from separate teams. This time around, three of the four two-man teams play together.
The high-flying Cleveland Cavaliers are the narrow favourites, but Evan Mobley’s skillset isn’t likely to translate to these drills. The most talented pair are veteran Point Guard Chris Paul and Victor Wenbanyama, the ball-handling 7ft4 Frenchman. Pair them with Garland for a 17/1 double.
Slam Dunk Contest Winner – Stephon Castle at 15/2
The Dunk contest field hasn’t exactly set pulses racing, which suggests Mac McClung’s big for a third-straight title could be in trouble. The G-League ace is a brilliant dunker, but there’s some genuine NBA talent set to challenge him.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle is the outsider, but he’s got a good record this season. The NBA’s Dunk Scores metric – which scores each in-season dunk – rates Castle quite highly. Only three players have produced a higher leap on a dunk this season than Castle, while he has more in-competition dunks than fellow rookie contenders Andre Jackson Jr and Matas Buzelis.
Castle’s lifted the ball 11ft into the air on one dunk this season, while he’s posted a take-off distance of 6.5ft. He’s scored high in terms of power and style in those rankings, so he’s capable of putting on a show. He looks capable of some highlight reel dunks, so at 15/2 he seems underestimated.
Adding him to our above double rounds out as a massive 152/1 treble for Saturday’s action!
All-Star Saturday Treble – Team Spurs, Garland & Castle to win at 152/1
NBA All-Star Game Predictions
Winner – Team Kenny at 15/4
Sunday’s All-Star game has been radically overhauled, with the 24 All-Stars divided into three teams, joined by the winner of Friday’s Rising Stars tournament. The three All-Star teams were drafted by TNT pundits Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.
Kenny’s young side are third-favourites and while his selections were mocked, he has a better blend of shooting and defence than Barkley, while both of his rivals have ageing players who we’ve seen phone-in All-Star games in the past.
Kenny’s side has four of the eight-man Three-Point Contest field, along with good defenders in Evan Mobley, Jaren Jackson Jr and Jalen Williams. His is also the only side not to have a player pull out due to injury, with Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo likely to be key misses for their respective sides.
Last year’s All-Star team was won by a less-talented Eastern Conference team and Team Giannis triumphed in 2023 despite looking weaker on paper. There’s definitely less between the squads than the odds suggest and Kenny’s side has some game-changers.
MVP – Jalen Brunson at 22/1
Anthony Edwards is likely to be the focus of Kenny’s eight-man roster, but Jalen Brunson is capable of putting on a show. The New York Knicks’ guard has recorded two 36-point games in the previous three matches heading into the break.
He’s a high-volume three-point shooter and while that might not see him take Saturday night’s contest, he’s a real threat at 22/1 to be named MVP on Sunday.
The previous three MVP winners have scooped the award thanks to a high-scoring night from three and the best-suited players to shut Brunson down are going to be on his team.
Build better bets with our free betting tips, predictions and accumulators, every day.
More betting news:
134/1 Experts acca for Saturday
View All Today’s Football Tips
Betting Academy: See our complete guide to football betting
Free Super Tips is the home of Free Football Tips. Make sure to take a look at our most popular betting tips, such as our Accumulator Tips and Both Teams To Score Tips.
