The much-anticipated All-Star weekend is finally upon us. Amid the exciting contests and legendary games, the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game promises to be a highlight. On February 7th, the announcement was made that the celebrity teams would be coached by Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith, the legendary NBA analysts from ESPN’s First Take.

Ever since the announcement, Stephen A, true to his style, has been trying to fire things up by beefing with his counterpart, Shannon Sharpe. In an Instagram post, while he was in the practice session with his team, he was also taking shots at Sharpe. Watch the clip:

In the clip, when talking about Sharpe, he can be heard saying, “Shannon not dedicated, he’s busy doing nightcap. He’s not focused on the game, he’s done… I feel sorry for him! I feel sorry for Shannon Sharpe! He in a world of trouble…I smell a blowout coming, I apologize to the American public right now…I can sense a blowout coming!”

The Veteran Showdown

Stephen A. Smith seems confident that his team will dominate Shannon’s in a blowout. Can his squad walk the walk after all the talk? Interestingly, alongside Stephen, his team boasts as coach (rapper) Lil Wayne and WNBA champion and MVP A’ja Wilson.

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Smith’s team also features celebrities like Jennifer Hudson, Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), Tristan Jass, Jack Ryan, Kwame Onwuachi, AJ McLean, Natasha Cloud, Adam Blackstone, CJ Stroud, and Gianmarco Tamberi.

Notably, only one player on Team Stephen A. has previous All-Star Celebrity Game experience: Gianmarco Tamberi, the Italian Olympic champion who played in the 2022 edition. Additionally, the only one with NBA experience is Metta World Peace, who played 17 seasons (1999-2017), earned an All-Star selection, and won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

On the other side of the court, we have Shannon’s team, coached alongside the iconic pairing of 50 Cent and Peyton Manning. Their lineup includes Kai Cenat, Lilly Singh, SiR, Anuel AA, Micah Parsons, Quincy Isaiah, Conor Daly, Jewell Loyd, Dylan Wang, and Walker Hayes.

Similar to Team Stephen A., only one member of Team Shannon has participated in the All-Star Celebrity Game before: rapper Anuel AA, who joined in 2022.

On paper, both teams seem promising. Now all the coaches have to make the final call of which player goes out to play and which players sit on the bench next to the coaches. Who are you rooting for? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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