The basketball world turns its focus to the Big Easy this weekend for the NBA’s annual star-studded fete known as All-Star Weekend. This year, the league has made a number of changes to their on-the-court events to enhance the entertainment value for fans. Meanwhile, off the court, the NBA and its many corporate sponsors are also making tweaks in order to give fans some pretty unique experiences.

Sprint is once again a major sponsor, hosting Friday night’s All-Star Celebrity Game and the All-Star pregame concert, featuring Jason Derulo, Aloe Blacc and Mack Wilds. The concert airs on NBA TV at 5:30 p.m. ET, ahead of TNT’s coverage of the game at 7 p.m. ET. The soft drink company also is teaming up with the NBA for “Discover Green,” an exhibit where fans can learn about Green living habits and charge their phones onsite (and get a little exercise) by riding stationary bicycles.

Bud Light is sponsoring a 45,000-square-foot event space next to the arena called the Bud Light District. The space will host more than 2,000 guests Friday night for the NBA All-Star Host Committee Media Party. Turner Sports will host its annual party presented by Samsung Galaxy on Saturday. The Bud Light District will also be the sight of Sunday’s pre-game concert and post-game party.

Cisco is bringing its digital “Mirror” technology, StyleMe, to All-Star Weekend for the first time. The touchscreen technology allows fans to take photos of themselves and then superimpose NBA merchandise onto the pictures.

For gamers, a lounge has been set up inside the All-Star Jam Session area featuring 20 kiosks with NBA 2K14 set up.

For a league that has been at the forefront of social media, interactivity remains the name of the game. For the first time this year, fans attending the festivities will receive radio-frequency identification bracelets, called All-Star Jam Bands. Presented by SAP, the bracelets allow fans to share photos and experiences on social media in real-time.

Other brands getting in on the action include Ciroq, a presenting sponsor for the Club ene-be-a party tomorrow night at the House of Blues; Gatorade, who is hosting 32 youth basketball teams for the Gatorade Invitational tournament; and American Express, whose “Off the Court” digital feature on NBA.com will allow fans to ask questions to players through live stream during All-Star Media Day and show behind-the-scenes footage of players throughout the weekend.

Star power is not something in short supply on All-Star Weekend and this year there’s plenty of it. Grammy-nominated rapper Kendrick Lamar will perform prior to the Slam Dunk Contest. Grammy winner Pharrell Williams will open up the All-Star Game with a performance and New Orleans native Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will kick off a halftime show that features Dr. John, Janelle Monae, Earth, Wind & Fire and Gary Clark Jr.

As for the action on the court, the Slam Dunk Contest will have a new wrinkle, with a “freestyle round” and a team format that will pit the two conferences against each other (fans will still vote for an individual champion as well). The league is also making changes to the three-point competition (now featuring a whole rack of money balls!) and the Skills Challenge, which will now be a pairs competition.

Turner Sports, the league’s TV partner for the game, teamed up with DC Entertainment to create a comic book that pairs the NBA analysts from Inside the NBA with DC Comics’ “Justice League” characters. The limited-edition comic book will be given out for free to fans. If you ever wondered what Comic Book Shaq looks like, check it out here.

Turner Sports also created a new “All-Star Ready” spot featuring NBA stars including Paul George, James Harden and Kevin Love as well as Marv Albert and the Inside the NBA crew.

Last year’s ratings for the game itself increased 13 percent in viewers from 2012, with 8 million people tuning in. The 4.6 household rating was up five percent, but was a still a far cry from the 1990s, when the game consistently rated in double digits.

With all the branded entertainment and sponsorship surrounding All-Star Weekend, it seems fitting that the arena the game will be played in itself is going through a re-brand as we speak. Last week, New Orleans Pelicans owner Tom Benson reached a 10-year naming rights deal with juice bar chain Smoothie King, and New Orleans Arena was re-christened Smoothie King Center…fresh for All-Star weekend.

Brief Take: NBA sponsors activating around All-Star Weekend festivities while the competitions themselves are seeing some minor tweaks that the NBA hopes will mean major fun for viewers.

Image courtesy of USA Today

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