There will be a familiar face for Chicago Bulls fans in the NBA’s annual Celebrity All-Star Game this year. Former Bulls forward Metta Sandiford-Artest will be suiting up for Team Stephen A., the celebrity squad coached by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, according to an official release by the NBA.
Sandiford-Artest was drafted out of St. John’s by the Bulls with the 16th pick of the 1999 NBA draft. He’ll be joined by Jennifer Hudson, Tristan Jass, Jack Ryan, AJ McLean, Kwame Onwuachi, Natasha Cloud, Adam Blackstone, CJ Stroud, and Gianmarco Tamberi as players for Team Stephen A.
They will play Team Shannon (for ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe, who is also coaching). with Micah Parsons, Quincy Isaiah, Conor Daly, Kai Cenat, Dylan Wang, Lilly Singh, SiR, Walker Hayes, and Anuel AA playing for that team.
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Team Stephen A. also has A’ja Wilson and Lil Wayne as coaches, and Team Shannon has Payton Manning and 50 Cent as coaches for the 2024 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, to be held in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The sole NBA veteran playing for either team, we expect Sandiford-Artest to take it easier than he used to on Friday night. The game is set to kick off at 6 p.m. CT.