THE official NBA 2011 All-Star Weekend begins on Friday, February 18 and will conclude on Sunday, February 20. Here is a rundown of the more anticipated events that will take place during the highly anticipated mid-season break.

Friday 18 – T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam

A growing favourite of the All-Star break, the NBA’s best first year players face up against their second year counterparts.

Notable players of the rookie roster are John Wall of the Washington Wizards, DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings and Eric Blesoe and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. Leading the sophomores is last year’s MVP Tyreke Evans of the Kinds, DeJuan Blair of the San Antonio Spurs, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Wesley Matthews of the Portland Trailblazers.

Last year’s staging was won by the rookies 140-128 to break a seven-year hold by the sophomores.

BBVA Celebrity Game

This match up allows celebrities of all spheres of entertainment the opportunity to rub shoulders with each other. Among this year’s participants is TEENage sensation Justin Bieber, rapper Common and NBA Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen, Bill Walton and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson.

Saturday 19 – Taco Bell Skills Challenge

Chris Paul headlines a host of talented ball handlers who hope to claim the title of Skills Challenge champion. Possible competitors for the title are Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Derek Fisher.

Last year’s champion was Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns to claim his second hold on the title.

Foot Locker three-point Contest

The 2011 edition is tipped to be one of the more competitive staging’s of Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics will have to defend his title against Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, James Jones of the Miami Heat, Dorrell Wright of the Golden State Warriors, Daniel Gibson of the Cleveland Cavaliers and last but not least the most successful three-point shooter in NBA history Celtics teammate Ray Allen. Of the challengers Ray is the only one to have won the title before, doing so while he represented the Milwaukee Bucks in 2001.

Sprite Slam Dunk

Last year Nate Robinson entered All-Star weekend history by being the first player to win the Slam Dunk contest on three separate occasions. Choosing not to defend his title, this year has four new competitors in DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, Blake Griffin of the Clippers, JaVale McGee of the Wizards and Serge Ibaka of the Thunder.

Sunday 20 – NBA All-Star Game (60th staging)

The All-Star game provides the league and NBA fans the opportunity to see the 24 best players in the league as at mid-season competing for conference bragging rights. The grande finale of the 2011 All-Star weekend will feature the Eastern Conference All-Stars on a mission to defend their title against the challengers from the Western Conference. For line-ups of both conferences see last week’s publication of NBA Update.

Noteworthy League Updates

Eastern Conference

The Cleveland Cavaliers ended their 26-game losing streak by defeating the Clippers 126-119 in overtime. The Celtics gained a psychological edge over the Heat by defeating them 85-82 on Sunday to regain pole position in the conference with a 39-14 record versus the 39-15 record of the Heat. The Atlanta Hawks have slipped to fifth in the conference while the Indiana Pacers strengthened their hold on eight place with a three-game winning streak.

Western Conference

Hall of Famer Jerry Sloan retired as coach of the Utah Jazz who have slipped to seventh place in the conference; their worst position for some time now. Their two-game losing streak has alerted the Memphis Grizzlies and the Suns who hold two-game and three-game winning streaks respectively that they may be able to capitalise on the grief of the franchise. The Spurs are still leading the charge with a 45-9 record.