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Michael C. Wright
multiple authors
The NBA Shooting Stars competition returns to All-Star weekend after an 11-year hiatus, the league announced Saturday, with four teams set to compete in the Feb. 14 event.
San Antonio Spurs Cheater dylan harperhis brother, Ron Harper Jr.., of boston celticsAnd his father, five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, finds himself in the field in a Shooting Stars competition that features three other teams made up of two current players and one retired NBA player.
Team All-Star toronto‘S Scotty Barnes, Oklahoma City‘S Chet Holmgren and Richard Hamilton, while the former ruler Stars jalen johnson (atlanta), Con Knuppel (charlotte) and Corey Maggette form Team Cameron. Jalen Brunson, carl-anthony town and alan houston teamed up nix.
The Shooting Stars competition will have a two-round format with all teams participating in the first round and the top two teams advancing to the final round. Teams will be given 70 seconds to score points by hitting shots at seven spots on the court, with each team member shooting at each spot in a set order.
Ron Harper said he had warned Ron Jr. for several years about younger brother, Dylan, when he opened fire in the backyard of their home in New Jersey. Now, they all get the opportunity to compete together as a family. Ron Harper played 16 seasons for four teams, and won three consecutive championships Chicago Bulls (1996–98) and two more Los Angeles Lakers (2000-01).
“They competed all the time,” Ron Harper told ESPN. “I always used to say [to Ron Jr.]’You better be careful because when Dylan gets your shape, he’s going to be hard. He would just say, ‘Dad, I’m going to spank her all the time.’ I said, ‘I’m telling you, when he’s 13 or 14 [years old]He will be as strong as you.’ And it came true.”
Dylan was the second overall pick in last year’s draft cooper flag. Ron Jr. is a two-way player for the Celtics and also spent time with the Raptors piston Since entering the league in the 2022–23 season.
The Shooting Stars competition began in 2004 at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, but the league discontinued it after the 2015 All-Star Game.
The Harper brothers will also play in the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars on Friday, the day before the Shooting Stars. Ron Jr. will play for Austin Rivers in that competition, while Dylan will play with Spurs teammate Stephen Castle On the team of NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony.
“In my mind, I thought every newbie made it [to the Rising Stars game],” Dylan Harper said. “To be in that position, to be one of the few newcomers to make it in the game is obviously a blessing.”
The Harper brothers have yet to face each other in organized competition. But Dylan plans to protect Ron Jr., who is six years his senior, and the rookie said, “I hope he protects me.”
“It’ll be a nice little family affair,” Ron Jr. told reporters.
