Janelle Monáe Excited To Be Chosen To Play In 2023 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game
By Melanie VanDerveer on February 12, 2023 at 9:30 AM EST
This year's NBA Celebrity All-Star Game roster was released earlier this week, and actress and singer Janelle Monáe was excited to hear she's on the list and playing for former NBA star Dwyane Wade's team.
Monáe took to Instagram to announce her exciting news with a video of her training with Sensei Bueno impressively in Big Red Boots by MSCHF.
JanelleMonáe Will Be Playing In This Year's NBA Celebrity All-Star Game
In an Instagram post, Monáe shows her basketball skills while training for the big event. "I’m officially a 2023 CELEBRITY ALL STAR GAME player a dream come true," she began her caption, that went on to thank her trainer and MSCHF Sneakers for the boots. She also added a message for her team captain, "I’m putting in work!!"
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Thousands of friends and fans dropped into the comments to leave their excitement for this big honor. The NBA reminded her, "Less than a week!!" and her team captain, Wade, added, "Let’s go!!!!"
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown wrote, "You look twelve. 😂 Go get ‘em!!!" and another follower added, "Let’s get these buckets! 🔥"
In the shared clip, the 37-year-old was rocking the viral Big Red Boots by MSCHF while hooping on an outdoor basketball court, and many of her Instagram followers were super focused on the cartoon-looking boots and her amazing ability to run, jump and shoot in them flawlessly.
"😂😂😂😂u the only one that can rock them!" actor Lance Gross wrote. "The only person those boots look good on," added another person. Another follower added the fact that she's running in the big boots, "Props for actually running in these. Hope you can take them off without too much trouble. 🤣😂🤣"
The Roster And Information For The Celebrity All-Star Game Was Released Earlier This Week
Celebrities chosen for this year's Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game, as well as coaches for the two teams, were announced a few days ago. The NBA shared the information on their Instagram page.
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The teams will be split between Team Dwyane, led by Wade, and Team Ryan, headed by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith. Wade, also a minority owner in the Jazz, will host this year's All-Star Weekend.
Team Dwyane's head coach will be Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, along with his brothers Thanasis, who also plays for the Bucks, and Alex, who plays for the Bucks G-League team, Wisconsin Herd. Also joining the coaching team with the Antetokounmpo brothers is Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsey Vonn.
As for Team Ryan, Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman will be the coach, along with a surprise guest that has yet to be announced.
This year's Celebrity All-Star game will include something new. Each team captain will have the option to activate "Ruffles Crunch Time" to start a two-minute period where point values are doubled. The "Unlock a Legend" feature will return this year which gives a team the ability to add a legendary NBA player to their roster mid-game.
Throughout the game, the captains and team members will compete in gameplay activations to raise up to $100,000 to benefit "5 For The Fight Cancer Research Internship" in partnership with Howard University, according to NBA.com.
This year's NBA All-Star Weekend will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, and begins Friday, Feb. 17. The Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game takes place on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and can be viewed on ESPN.