Drake, Kevin Hart to coach teams in All-Star Celebrity Game

Rapper Drake will coach his Canada team against Kevin Hart’s USA team at the 2016 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Toronto.
Drake, Kevin Hart to coach teams in All-Star Celebrity Game
Drake, Kevin Hart to coach teams in All-Star Celebrity Game /

All-Star weekend arrives in Toronto for the first time ever in 2016, and Toronto’s favorite son will take a crack at coaching team Canada to victory.

Rapper (and Raptors global ambassador) Drake will coach his Canada team against a USA squad coached by comedian (and four-time Celebrity Game MVP) Kevin Hart at the 2016 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Toronto on Friday, Feb. 12.

Drake hasn’t been spotted on the sidelines since his video for “Best I Ever Had,” in which his team lost its game with a score roughly in the neighborhood of 91–14. So, understandably, two-time MVP and former Suns and Canada starSteve Nash will help him on the sidelines, along with Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and bat-flip connoisseur Jose Bautista. Suiting up for the home team are former Raptors star and minor league baseball pitcher Tracy McGrady, ex-Laker Rick Fox and Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler, among others.

The plot thickens: after Hart took home the award last year in New York, he announced his retirement from the Celebrity Game. Burned out from his playing days, Hart moves to the sidelines to direct an impressive collection of talent that includes actors Michael B. Jordan and Jason Sudeikis, former Pistons guard ChaunceyBillups, legendary Charlotte Hornet MuggsyBogues, and WNBA superstar Elena Delle Donne.

Rounding out team Canada are actor Stephan James. Drew and Jonathan Scott from HGTV’s “Property Brothers,” pro tennis player Milos Raonic, actor/singer Kris Wu, and Natalie Achonwa of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. The rest of the USA roster includes Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, actorsAnthony Anderson and Nick Cannon and Empire’s Bryshere“Yazz” Gray.

No word on point spread yet, although Hart’s reputation in these games speaks for itself. But regardless, if one had to make an educated guess, this won’t be the last we hear from ol’ Drizzy during his hometown’s big weekend.

Full rosters can be seen below:

TEAM USA

TEAM CANADA

Michael B. Jordan

Tracy McGrady

Jason Sudeikis

Win Butler

Chauncey Billups

Stephan James

Muggsy Bogues

Drew Scott

Elena Delle Donne

Jonathan Scott

Marc Lasry

Milos Raonic

Anthony Anderson

Kris Wu

Nick Cannon

Natalie Achonwa

Bryshere "Yazz" Gray

Rick Fox

The game will help to kick off All-Star Weekend and tip off at 7 p.m. E.T. on ESPN from the Ricoh Coliseum.


Published
Jeremy Woo
JEREMY WOO

Jeremy Woo has covered basketball for SI since 2014, including the NBA draft and weekly Power Rankings. He is from the South Side of Chicago.