The NBA All-Star game gets a bad rap, but it really shouldn’t — not if you’re betting at least. The money aspect makes the All-Star matchup quite watchable actually. We’re ready for the 2024 game and have All-Star betting picks for you right here so stick around.
- What: 2024 NBA All-Star Game
- When: Sunday, February 18
- Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
2024 NBA All-Star Game Preview
The NBA is going back to its roots for this year’s All-Star game — and that means it’s East vs. West. If you remember, the past few years it’s been two team captions who then draft-pick their rosters from the voted-in All Stars. That concept has been scraped in 2024 and the foreseeable future. What else has changed? Well, not a whole much but let’s preview the All Star game at a macro level.
The roster was announced at the start of February. Players were chosen based on a fan, player, and media vote. The fans contributed 50 percent of the weight for selections, while fans and media had 25 percent each. Twelve players were selected from each conference. We won’t name every player, but here’s the starting lineups at least:
Eastern Conference starters:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
- Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
- Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
Western Conference starters:
- LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
- Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
- Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
- Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
2024 NBA All-Star Betting Picks
All-Star is an entire weekend of festivities, not just one game. So there’s a multitude of ways of profiting off NBA All-Star betting. We’ve hand-picked three below. If you’re putting money down, you might want to start with these three:
Dunk Contest
Is the dunk contest back? It’s a question that’s seemingly asked every year, but 2024 might be it. Why? Because a big-name player is actually participating in the Saturday event this year. That player is Jaylen Brown of the Celtics. He’s the first actual All-Star to participate in the contest since DeAndre Jordan in 2017. Despite that, Brown isn’t the first or second favorite to win. Here’s the bunk contest odds at the best NBA betting sites:
| Contestant |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac McClung | -225 | -225 | -225 |
| Jacob Toppin | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Jaylen Brown | +525 | +525 | +525 |
| Jaime Jacquez Jr. | +800 | +800 | +800 |
We have a hard time picking anyone not named McClung. The white boy — yes, a white guy! — revived the contest with a sensational dunk contest performance. McClung earned perfect scores on three of his four dunks on the 2023 affair.
And remember, the dunk contest winner gets $100,000 prize. Chump change for most, but not a G-league player like McClung currently is. The white boy will be incentivized to repeat as champion, and you can bank on that!
Three-Point Shootout
While the dunk contest has one runaway betting favorite, no such thing exists for the three-point shootout. This is an eight-player competition and everyone included can shoot lights out. Here are the early frontrunners to win the 3-point event, per the oddsmakers:
| Contestant | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dame Lillard | +475 | +475 | +475 |
| Tyrese Haliburton | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Malik Beasley | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Trae Young | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Jalen Brunson | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Karl Anthony-Towns | +600 | +600 | +600 |
This is the type of contest where you’d be smart to bet on at least two players. You can make strong arguments for several in the field too.
For one, Lillard is never a bad bet. He was the 2023 contest winner in Utah. Not only that, Lillard is one of the deadliest shooters in league history even though he rarely gets the credit for it. He ranks third among active players in threes made and fifth all-time.
Beasley is a first-timer of this event so he might be motivated more than usual. Currently, Beasley rates fifth overall in 3-point percentage (44.7%) during the season. He’s tied with Haliburton odds-wise. Haliburton is so high because he’s the hometown player competing in the event.
Lillard is getting one of our bets for sure because of his all-time ability. For our second bet, we’re taking a flyer on Young. He was snubbed as an All-Star pick and we get the feeling Young will want to stick it to voters with a dazzling performance.
All-Star Game
Enough with the Saturday events, we need to throw some money on the All-Star game itself. Personally, we’re most inclined to bet the moneyline of the All-Star match. Here’s the latest odds:
East is our pick. Why? Because they’re plus-money, that’s why. Seriously, there’s no telling whether any All-Star will even try this game so realistically the odds should be more even. In that respect, East at +125 is a steal.
If you need a better reason to convince yourself into this pick then perhaps the Indiana crowd will rally its own Eastern Conference. Seriously, in an exhibition All-Star game, that’s as good of a reason as you’ll get.
How To Bet On 2024 NBA All-Star?
All-Star betting can be had at any one of the below bookmakers. Not only the three bets we covered above, but a few other All-Star wagers too (e.g. game MVP or skills competition). If you need help deciding which site to use for betting, read up on our latest sportsbook reviews. Links are below, as well as details on the lucrative sign-up bonuses available now. Have at it before All-Star weekend starts!
