Next week the stars will decend upon Charlotte for the 2019 NBA All-Star game and the festivities that surround it. As participants are being announced, Panthers fans will see one very familiar name.
Carolina’s all-time receiving leader, Steve Smith Sr, will play in the celebrity game. Other notable participants with Carolina connections are Nick Cannon, Chris Daughtry, Terrance J, Rapsody, A’ja Wilson, Jay Williams, Ray Allen and Dawn Staley.
Here’s the full roster:
Both rosters will also feature a “hometown hero” for the first time, honoring exemplary citizens with a chance to play in the game. Jason Weinmann, a 47-year-old Marine who rescued North Carolina flood victims using a military transport vehicle during Hurricane Florence, will play on the home team, and James Shaw Jr., a 29-year-old Nashville resident who disarmed a gunman in a local restaurant, will suit up for the away team.
Ruffles, the Official Chip of the NBA, will go all-in again this year as the presenting partner of the 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. For the entire game, celebrity players can score big by shooting from the potato chip brand’s 4-point line, “The RIDGE,” resembling the ridges in Ruffles potato chips. For every 4-pointer made from “The RIDGE” during the game, Ruffles will donate $4,000 to foster environments of inclusion in sports in partnership with the Special Olympics, up to $40,000.
2019 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game presented by Ruffles, which will air exclusively on ESPN and the ESPN App, Friday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. ET from Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.