Hot Events: NBA All-Star & 4 Nations Face-Off
14/2/25
Now that the NFL season is officially over, we’re treated to both the NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco and the first ever 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. The timing couldn’t be better for sports fans alike.
Starting with the NBA, it’s no secret that the events that everyone tunes in for are the Dunk Contest and the 3-Point Contest, as the All-Star game has been eclipsed by the Saturday competitions. As far as the Dunk Contest goes, Orlando Magic 2-way high-flyer Mac-McClung, who is looking to make history as the first ever dunk champion to win three in a row. He also has a chance to tie Nat Robinson for most wins in Dunk Contest history with three. You can imagine how heavily favored Mac is to win as most books have him at -210 odds.
As far as the 3-Point Contest goes, UBET.io has something special cooking up! With a star-studded lineup, here’s what we have in store.
HOT BET: Damian Lillard To Win 3-Point Contest (+400)
Just like Mac McClung, Damian Lillard is going for the three-peat, however, this has been done before. Hall-Of-Famer Larry Bird won the first ever 3-Point Contest followed by two more consecutive wins. Craig Hodges has also won three in a row, with a handful of players winning two in a row.
Dame is favored to win the contest as most books have him at +350 odds, making this hot bet one of the best odds in the market for the competition. Norman Powell and Darius Garland are the next closest in odds with most books listing them at +500 odds. It’s hard to go against someone as dialed and on point as Dame Dolla. Lillard has shot the three at a 38.2% clip this season, which so far the best he’s shot since the 2020/21 season. While that’s not the best percentage of the group, which belongs to Darius Garland at 43.8 %, Damian is amongst the top of the league in three-pointers made with 153.
The NBA has elected to go with a 4-team mini tournament, drafted by the panel of TNT’s ‘Inside The NBA’ (Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley). This of course is different from the traditional East vs West matchup of all-stars from their respective conferences. The fourth team will be awarded to the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge, which features the league’s brightest young stars from around the association. Here are the rosters selected by Shaq, Kenny and Chuck.
Team Shaq
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers*
Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors*
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks - replaces Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics*
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns*
Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Team Chuck
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets*
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks - replaces Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder*
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
Aperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks*
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers*
Team Kenny
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks*
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Whether it was intentional or not, it would appear to keep the veterans (Shaq), young guns (Kenny), and international players (Charles) together. That should definitely bring some added excitement to the game, as the ‘main event’ has struggled for years. If all teams participate with the intent to win and not a sloppy pickup game, it would be hard to go against LeBron, Curry and Durant, who just lead team USA to victory in the summer Olympics.
4 Nations Face-Off: Canada Moneyline (-121)
We’re going with Canada all the way, eh. After an exhilarating overtime win over Sweden, with Mitch Marner tallying the game-winner and Sidney Crosby’s incredible play leading to 3 assists, this squad looks to be ready for the challenge vs the US.
Here’s an incredible stat. In Canada’s last 26 games with Sidney Crosby in the lineup, their record is a spotless 26-0. Truly incredible as Sidney Crosby still is regarded as one of the best in the game at 37 years old and with the weapons on this squad, you have to look at his points and assists totals.
Team USA turned the jets on in the third period. Finland opened the scoring in the first period but USA would tack on 6 unanswered goals. It looked as if there wasn’t a lot of space to operate as there should have been with Finland’s main anchor on defense, Miro Heiskanen, out on the IR. It was the Tkachuk brothers opening things up in the final frame with 4 goals between the two.
It’s going to be a tight battle as the Bell Centre will be rocking on Saturday. The key here is goaltending as USA strands stronger in that position as Hellebuyck is slated to start against Canada’s Binnington. If goaltending is shaky, their defense is also going to have to stay strong as Shea Theodore is now down. Either way, this is going to be an incredible matchup and Canada will definitely be banking on the home ice-advantage in Montreal.
