A Heat viewing guide for 2025 All-Star Weekend. Herro, Jaquez and Christopher all representing
After Thursday night’s game against the Mavericks in Dallas, the Miami Heat enters a much-needed break in its schedule. But a few players on the Heat’s roster will be busy this weekend.
The Heat will be represented by Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Josh Christopher at All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. In addition, Alondes Williams of the Heat’s G League affiliate will be part of the league’s showcase weekend.
At least one Heat player is competing in an event on each day of All-Star Weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Heat will resume its schedule following the All-Star break on Feb. 21 against the Raptors in Toronto.
Here’s an All-Star Weekend viewing guide for Heat fans ...
FRIDAY
Rising Stars (9 p.m., TNT and TruTV): The Heat will be represented by one player in this event at Chase Center, as Jaquez is among the participants for the second straight year. The Rising Stars showcase features select NBA rookies and sophomores, and NBA G League players competing in a four-team mini-tournament.
But this year for the first time, the winning Rising Stars team will earn the opportunity to compete against NBA All-Stars in the NBA All-Star Game mini-tournament on Sunday. That means Jaquez has a chance to qualify for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game.
“Of course,” Jaquez said when asked if the new Rising Stars format leads to more motivation to win the event. “Especially us young guys, we’re all hungry. We want to beat those guys. That’s why we’re called the Rising Stars. We want to rise up and take on the challenge of being those guys who are the stars of the league. It definitely brings a little bit more excitement and a will to really win.”
Jaquez was drafted onto Team Tim Hardaway for the Rising Stars event, with former Heat guard Tim Hardaway serving as the honorary coach. Hardaway is one of several former members of the Golden State Warriors with a role during All-Star Weekend.
Each of the four teams competing in Rising Stars includes seven players. Also on Jaquez’s Rising Stars team are Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black, Magic forward Tristan Da Silva, Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick, Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski, Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher and Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr.
How does it work?
Team Chris Mullin will face Team Tim Hardaway in one semifinal game and Team G League will take on Team Mitch Richmond in the other semifinal game. For each semifinal game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points
For the championship game between the two winning semifinalists, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 25 points.
Jaquez, Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Michael Beasley and Herro are the only five players in Heat history who have been selected for the Rising Stars showcase multiple times while with the organization.
SATURDAY
Three-Point Contest (second of three events during All-Star Saturday Night, which begins at 8 p.m. on TNT and TruTV): The Heat will be represented by Herro on All-Star Saturday Night at Oakland Arena, formerly known as Oracle Arena.
Herro is one of eight participants going for the NBA’s Three-Point crown this year in the two-round timed shooting competition, along with Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Buddy Hield of the Warriors, Cam Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks and Norman Powell of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I’m definitely excited to compete among a great group of shooters,” Herro said. “We’ll see what happens.”
With each participant having 70 seconds to shoot as many of the 27 balls as they can, the three players with the highest scores in the first round will advance to the championship round.
This will mark Herro’s second appearance in the Three-Point Contest after being eliminated in the first round of the shooting contest during the 2023 All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City.
Herro, 25, will become just the fifth different player to take part in the shooting competition multiple times while with the Heat. The others are Jon Sundvold, Glen Rice, Daequan Cook and James Jones.
The only Heat players who have won the Three-Point Contest in franchise history are Rice (1995), Jason Kapono (2007), Cook (2009) and Jones (2011).
SUNDAY
G League Up Next Game (3:30 p.m., Tubi and the NBA App): The Heat will be represented by two players from its G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, in the G League Up Next Game at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Those two players are guards Josh Christopher and Alondes Williams.
The NBA G League Up Next Game features four teams competing in two semifinal games. The winner of each semifinal will face off in the championship game. Christopher and Williams are on different teams.
Christopher, 23, who is one of three players who the Heat has signed to a two-way contract, has averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game in 23 appearances for the Skyforce this season. He has played in just eight games for the Heat this season.
Williams, 25, who is not signed by the Heat to a contract and is eligible to sign with any NBA team, has averaged 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 12 appearances for the Skyforce this season. Williams will also take part in the G League’s Slam Dunk Contest, which will take place Saturday at 2 p.m.
Heat two-way contract guard Isaiah Stevens was also selected for the G League Up Next Game, but won’t play in the event because of an injury.
NBA All-Star Game (8 p.m., TNT): Herro is the Heat’s lone representative (unless Jaquez qualifies for it through Rising Stars) in this season’s NBA All-Star Game, which will take place at Chase Center. Herro, who will make his first NBA All-Star Game appearance, was voted in as an Eastern Conference reserve.
Herro, 25, is just the 11th different Heat player in franchise history to be selected as an NBA All-Star (Alonzo Mourning, Hardaway, Anthony Mason, Shaquille O’Neal, Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Herro).
Herro is also just the third Heat draft pick to make the NBA All-Star Game while with the Heat, joining a short list that also includes Wade and Adebayo.
This season’s All-Star Game will look a little different, featuring a mini-tournament with four teams and three games for the first time.
Two teams will meet in one semifinal (Game 1), and the remaining two teams will meet in the other semifinal (Game 2). The winning teams from Game 1 and Game 2 will advance to face each other in the championship (Game 3). For each game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points.
Each team will have eight players and be named for a TNT NBA analyst. The 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three teams, with the rosters drafted by TNT’s “Inside the NBA” commentators and honorary team general managers Charles Barkley, O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The fourth team will be the winning squad from the championship game of Friday’s Rising Stars event.
Herro was drafted onto Team Kenny. Also on Herro’s team for the NBA All-Star Game are Brunson, Cunningham, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Garland, Memphis Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr., Cavaliers center Evan Mobley and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams.
Team Kenny, which has been labeled as Kenny’s Young Stars, will face Barkley’s team in the first semifinal matchup of the NBA All-Star Game tournament. The victor will then take on the winner of the matchup between O’Neal’s team and the Rising Stars team in the championship game.
The four teams participating in the NBA All-Star Game will compete for a prize pool of $1.8 million. Each player on the championship-winning team will receive $125,000, each player on the second-place team will receive $50,000 and each player on the third- and fourth-place teams will receive $25,000.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 1:59 PM.
