NBA Crossover: Where fans can get immersed in All-Star Weekend
As the NBA has evolved, so has its midseason showcase.
The league’s 75th All-Star Game takes place Sunday at the Intuit Dome, and Kelly Flatow, the NBA’s executive vice president and group head of events, noted how much things have changed since the last time the event was held in Los Angeles.
“This will be my 20th All-Star and I joined the events group in 2016, so I was in charge of the All-Star when it was here at Staples Center in 2018,” she said. “So it’s great to be back in Los Angeles.”
There’s plenty in store for the public this year, both in Inglewood and downtown.
A key element of the All-Star Show is the NBA Crossover, an opportunity for fans to experience the sport through pop culture, fashion, technology, music and entertainment.
“Every year All-Star grows in different forms,” Flatow said. “What we used to call a weekend is now a full week. In fact, the Clippers have done an incredible job of making All-Star a season-long celebration of the game.”
Ludacris, who will perform at One Musicfest at Piedmont Park in Atlanta in October, will be the featured artist at NBA Crossover Friday at the Convention Center.
(Paul R. Giunta / vision / via Associated Press)
In November, the organization launched a three-on-three tournament, 75 days before what will be the 75th game. She started “Homecourt Hoops,” a program that resulted in 75 outdoor hoops being distributed each day. On Friday during the Rising Stars mini-tournament, Clippers President Steve Ballmer and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will distribute the final set of hoops to deserving families.
“We view this as a global celebration of gaming and given the unique geography of this city, it is important to cover as much of the greater Los Angeles area as possible,” Flatow said. “You will see it with our key sites.
“Of course we’re featuring the Intuit Dome as well as the Kia Forum where we’ve had two All-Star Games in the past and this coming weekend we’re going to have a series of events there. Friday night we have the Celebrity Game, which has always been a mainstay of our All-Star festivities, but one of the things we didn’t have when we were here eight years ago is the NBA HBCU Classic. This will be the fifth time for that.”
The All-Star Celebrity Game begins at 4 p.m. and aims to please as Mookie Betts of the World Series champion Dodgers will coach one team and actor/comedian Anthony Anderson will coach the other. Betts’ team includes rapper GloRilla, Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and retired Brazilian soccer star Cafu, while Anderson’s team includes Canadian actor Simu Liu, Chargers forward Keenan Allen and former NBA player Jason “White Chocolate” Williams. At halftime, K-pop group Cortis will perform.
The Celebrity Game will be followed by the HBCU Classic between Coastal Athletic Assn. competes with North Carolina A&T and Hampton.
“NBA Crossover provides even more ways for fans to get in on the action,” said Flatow, who vividly remembers her first All-Star Game as an NBA employee in Las Vegas in 2007. “The Convention Center will be transformed into a destination for fans with live performers, personalized experiences, retail offerings, NBA partner activations, player activations. [and] talent appearances, panel discussions, memorabilia displays and much more. There will be concerts Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s about putting Los Angeles and our game on the world stage.
Flatow cited 27 different marketing partners and brands teaming up with the NBA. Sunday’s All-Star Game will be broadcast in 200 countries and territories. She also hailed the largest merchandise village in the event’s history and ticket data confirms there will be fans from all 50 states and 44 countries.
The Clippers welcome with their All-Star City of Stars Alliance DJ Cassidy Pass the Mic Live! event Saturday night at the Kia Forum – a set of hip-hop and R&B royalty that will feature Ashanti, Busta Rhymes, Ja Rule, Lil Kim and others.
Three concerts will highlight the Crossover extravaganza: hip-hop group Cortis on Thursday, rapper Ludacris on Friday and country, Americana and hip-hop singer Shaboozey on Saturday. A beats & brunch event with DJ Pauly D will follow on Sunday.
“When we were here in 2018, I don’t know if the influencer phenomenon still existed, but now in 2026, creators are such a big part of pop culture, so we have amazing creators,” Flatow said. “State Farm is hosting a three-point competition with comedian Druski and we’ve added a Creator Court as well as what we’ll call Hardcourt Central, a festival-style area where there will be food trucks, musical performances and more. There will be plenty of opportunities to shoot hoops and meet your favorite players and legends like Oscar Robertson, Dr. J, Robert Horry and Mitch Richmond.”
Late Sunday morning, 24 of the NBA G League’s most dynamic players, 10 of whom were selected by fan voting, will show off their skills during the Next Up Game, part of the Crossover show at the Convention Center. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
“The G League wasn’t part of the All-Star experience the last time we were here in 2018,” Flatow said. “We created a G League Park with an NBA Crossover, so on Saturday one of the things people can do is watch the G League dunk contest, always a fan favorite, and then Sunday at G League Park is the G League Next Up Game and that’s included in the price of admission to the Crossover.
“Because there are so many things we are adding and announcing in the coming days, I encourage everyone to go to the NBA Events app and check out the full schedule, which will be updated in real time.”
