Of all the major professional sports leagues in the United States, nobody does All-Star Weekend like the NBA.
The actual All-Star Game (12:00 p.m. AEDT has become just a fraction of the fun, with special events like the 3-Point Contest, Skills Challenge, Rising Stars, Celebrity Game and Slam Dunk Contest filling up the Friday and Saturday slate. We even have a special NBA/WNBA crossover shooting showdown between Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu that has been the talk of the hoops world for weeks.
Even more exciting for a large portion of the NBA universe, bettors can now wager on the winners of these events, the MVPs and even the specific points put up by individual players in each contest. Just like the Super Bowl just broke betting records, you can bet on the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend generating a ton of action this weekend.
MORE ALL-STAR WEEKEND: NBA Players Pick Steph-Sabrina Winner
You can't just blindly drop $100 on your favourite player, though — that's called betting with your heart, not your head. Even with exhibitions, we must do our due diligence and research each bet before putting our money on the line. If we don't assess the value of props and identify the risk-vs-reward, we're gambling rather than betting.
That's why we've decided to assemble a full betting guide for the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, including odds and best bets for the 3-Point Contest, Steph vs. Sabrina, the Slam Dunk Contest and the Skills Challenge. If you can bet on it this weekend, we're covering it — and hopefully, by Sunday, your eyes will be seeing dollar signs and stars.
NBA All-Star Prop Bets 2024 Predictions, odds & more
NBA Slam Dunk Contest Prediction
Best bet: Jaylen Brown first round score OVER 94.5 ($1.87)
You can't bet on a winner of the Dunk Contest, but you can bet on:
- (a) which player will get the highest Round 1 score and
- (b) the over/under for each contestant in Round 1
That's fine with us, as we like Brown to start strong but we're not so sure he has enough in his bag to pull off a victory over reigning champion Mac McClung or young stud Jacob Toppin (brother of Obi). The fourth competitor, the Heat's Jaime Jaquez, seems like a long shot.
Brown offers the most star power that the Slam Dunk Contest has pulled in years and we expect the judges to reward him with some generous scoring in Round 1. JB's a power dunker — known for breakaway jams and intense posterizations — so while he's not likely to pull many 360-degree stuffs any time soon, he will probably put quite the exclamation mark on any jam.
This is a modest number, so Brown should be able to smash it as he will more than likely start with his best, most practiced dunk to stay alive. This OVER yields way more value than McClung's first-round OVER of 98.5.
MORE: Why this Dunk Contest has the potential to be special
NBA 3-Point Contest Prediction
| Player | Odds |
| Damian Lillard | $5.50 |
| Jalen Brunson | $6.00 |
| Trae Young | $6.50 |
| Tyrese Haliburton | $6.50 |
| Malik Beasley | $6.50 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | $7.00 |
| Lauri Markkanen | $7.50 |
| Donovan Mitchell | $8.00 |
Best Bet: Tyrese Haliburton ($5.50)
Haliburton dropped an incredible 31 points in the first round of last year's Starry 3-Point Contest and he would have had 33 if not for the first ball from his money rack rolling in and out.
The second-time All-Star has a quick release, tremendous accuracy, backspin and fantastic range. He had no problem at all hitting both Starry balls from 27 feet last year and the only thing keeping him from his first 3-Point Contest trophy was Lillard going off in the final round. This time, in front of his Pacers fans, we have the young star taking it down.
Haliburton has shot the 3-ball at a 40-percent clip his entire NBA career and this year is no different for the fourth-year pro despite career-highs in attempts (7.9) and makes (3.2). Bet against Hali at your own risk.
Another solid bet to win: Trae Young ($6.50)
Top sleeper: Malik Beasley ($6.50)
Beasley has always been a deadeye shooter, but he has been better than ever this season. He's shooting at 44.4 percent from distance and averaging a hair under three treys per game. He has a quick-snap release and he catches fire quickly, so don't be surprised if the Bucks sharpshooter takes this down.
Another sleeper candidate: Jalen Brunson ($6.00)
Fade: Damian Lillard ($5.50)
Lillard won last season, but we're not putting a dollar on him going back-to-back. The only modern shooter to win back-to-back 3-Point Contests is Steph Curry and we don't see Dame Dolla doing it. Lillard's currently maintaining the second-worst 3-point percentage of his career (34.1%) and he's just 10-of-41 over his past five games (24.4%). Fade the reigning champ.
MORE: Checking out All-Star Weekend's futuristic LED court
Steph vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge Prediction
| Player | Odds |
| Sabrina Ionescu | $2.80 |
| Steph Curry | $1.40 |
Best bet: Sabrina Ionescu ($2.80)
First off, what a cool event to include in NBA All-Star weekend. The NBA and WNBA need to have more crossover specials, as women's hoops continues to rise in popularity across the nation (and world, for that matter!). We have Ionescu winning this head-to-head showdown, just like she beat Steph the last time they faced off in HORSE.
Look, we get it — Steph's the greatest shooter in NBA history and he comes into this weekend scorching hot. He has hit 85-of-178 3-pointers over Golden State's past 13 games (47.8%). However, he's still only at 42.1 percent from deep on the season and Ionescu finished the 2023 WNBA season shooting 44.8 percent from distance. She also won the W's 3-Point Contest.
But she didn't just win — she destroyed the competition. The New York Liberty superstar scored a 37 out of a possible 40 points to surpass the single-round NBA record of 31 held by...Steph Curry and Tyrese Haliburton. She also smoked Allie Quigley's WNBA 3-Point Contest single-round record of 30, which Quigley set in 2022.
Ionescu is clearly built for 3-point contest success. Expect the 26-year-old sharpshooter to get the last laugh in her battle with Steph on Saturday night.
NBA Skills Challenge Prediction
Best bet: Team All-Stars $3.10
We saved the hardest call for last. Ultimately, we're banking on Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young's "Team All-Stars" emerging victorious over "Team Top Picks" (Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, and Paolo Banchero) and "Team Pacers (Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner).
Presenting the #StateFarmSaturday participants... starting with the 2024 #KiaSkills field!
— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2024
Team Top Picks: @Pp_doesit, @theantedwards_ and @wemby
Team Pacers: @TyHaliburton22, @BennMathurin and @Original_Turner
Team All-Stars: @ScottBarnes561, @TyreseMaxey and @TheTraeYoung… pic.twitter.com/LCObd7VG9v
Our central reasoning: Team All-Stars is the fastest of the three and it can be argued that Young and Maxey are two of the three best shooters in this contest. They don't have a center to potentially slow them down with dribbling or passing (although Wemby and Turner are far from traditional bigs).
Team All-Stars are also more fundamentally-sound than than Benny, Ant, Paolo and Myles. We're not putting more than $10 or $20 on this, as it's more about fun and rooting interest than an honest-to-goodness investment, but if we do throw some money down it will be on the 25-and-under All-Stars.
