Duke basketball underrepresented at NBA All-Star Weekend

The Duke basketball program will be underrepresented at NBA All-Star Weekend. 

Typically, NBA All-Star Weekend is a reunion for former Duke basketball players, but that will not be the case this year.

Only two former Blue Devils will be participating in events in Cleveland this weekend, Luke Kennard and Jayson Tatum.

Kennard, a guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, will be in the Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday Night.

The former Detroit Piston has found a home with the Clippers in his second year with the team and is shooting 43.0-percent from 3-point range this season while averaging 11.6 points per game.

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Luke Kennard is shooting 41.6-percent from 3-point range in his career and has never previously participated in the event.

CJ McCollum, Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Desmond Bane, Karl-Anthony Towns, Fred VanVleet, and Patty Mills will compete against Kennard in the event.

There will not be a former Duke player in the Rising Stars Challenge, Skills Challenge, or Slam Dunk Contest this season, unless an injury arises with one of the current contestants.

Duke basketball will have All-Star representation

Jayson Tatum will be making his third consecutive All-Star Game appearance and was drafted to Team Kevin Durant.

Tatum earned the start in this year’s game due to an injury to Durant that forces him to miss the game.

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The 23-year-old is averaging 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 43.2-percent shooting from the floor, 32.6-percent from 3-point range, and 84.3-percent from the free throw line as the Boston Celtics make a resurgence in the Eastern Conference.

NBA All-Star Weekend begins on Friday, February 18 with the 3-Point Shootout on Saturday.

The NBA-All-Star game will take place on Saturday, February 20 at 8:00 p.m. (TNT).