The Magic Insider

Would a Coed 2-on-2 Tournament Fix NBA All-Star Weekend Saturday Night?

Ryan Kaminski|
Dec 26, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) handles the ball in front of Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
Dec 26, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) handles the ball in front of Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

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Would a coed 2-on-2 tournament between the NBA’s and WNBA’s best fix All-Star Weekend Saturday Night ? Considering how the slam dunk contest has fallen off?

NBA All-Star weekend is known to play around with fun ideas involving current and former players from the NBA and WNBA.

What if Adam Silver decided to test-run a coed 2-on-2 tournament in Los Angeles this February?

The guidelines are simple: build a team from any two players who want to team up as long as the team is divided into one NBA player and one WNBA player, active or not.

Imagine some of the pairings that could never be seen elsewhere, joining forces to compete against the best basketball players in the world in a format only seen once a year.

LeBron James & Paige Bueckers
vs.
Diana Taurasi & Kyrie Irving

Steph Curry & Candace Parker
vs.
Caitlin Clark & Giannis Antetokoumnpo

Anthony Edwards & Napheesa Collier
vs.
Breanna Stewart & Nikola Jokic

The list of potential pairings and matchups are endless. The amount of talent in this era of basketball is truly incredible.

With the popularity of All-Star weekend having seen better days, maybe an idea like this draws in the casual viewer through an unusual yet competitive lens.


At Magic Media Day, I asked Wendell Carter Jr. about this idea in a hypothetical 2-on-2 format between he & Angel Reese against A’ja Wilson & Bam Adebayo.

Carter laughed that he and Angel would “Definitely 11-0” A’ja & Bam in a hypothetical game of 2-on-2, first to 11 points.

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Ryan Kaminski
RYAN KAMINSKI

Ryan is a basketball scout data analyst who has been covering the Orlando Magic, NBA, and NBA Draft with a focus on roster building strategy, data analytics, film breakdowns, and player development since 2017. He is credentialed media for the Orlando Magic along with top high schools in Central Florida where he scouts talent in marquee matchups at Montverde Academy, IMG Academy, Oak Ridge, and the NBPA Top-100 Camp. He generates basketball data visualizations, formerly with The BBall Index. He has two B.A.s from Florida State University in Business Management and Business Marketing. Twitter/YouTube/Substack: @BeyondTheRK

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