13 Hip-Hop Artists Who Played in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Over the Years
The NBA All-Star festivities kick off tonight (Feb. 16) with the 2018 All-Star Celebrity Game in Los Angeles. Set to take place at the Verizon Up Arena, located at the Los Angeles Convention Center, this year’s game will feature a star-studded roster full of actors, former NBA players, pop stars and rappers.
The NBA Celebrity Game has been a staple of All -Star Weekend since its introduction in 2002-03 season. Played every year on a Friday night before the Slam Dunk competition, the game is held at the same host city of the NBA All-Star Game. With celebrities of sorts taking the court each year to show off their b-ball skills on live TV, the celebrity game has given basketball fans plenty of hilarious and memorable moments.
Hip-hop has even made its presence felt over the years at each celebrity game. In 2003, Nelly and Ice Cube appeared in the inaugural celebrity game in Atlanta. Since then, the likes of Romeo Miller, J. Cole, Wale, Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg and others have gotten a chance to hoop at the NBA’s star-studded game.
Among those representing for hip-hop culture tonight are Chicago MC Common, rapper and actor Nick Cannon and Migos member Quavo. Joining the rappers in tonight's Team Clippers vs. Team Lakers game will be high-profile celebrities like singer Justin Bieber, actress Dascha Polanco, actor Jamie Foxx, actor Anthony Anderson, golfer Bubba Watson, Kris Wu, WNBA player Candace Parker, actor Jerry Ferrara and more.
The 2018 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game takes place tonight at 7 p.m. ET, exclusively on ESPN.
Check out below all of the hip-hop acts who have played over the years in the celebrity game.