NBA on TNT American Express Road Show to Provide Engaging Fan Experiences for NBA All-Star 2018 in L.A., with Live Inside the NBA Telecasts & Performances by Kendrick Lamar on Fri., Feb. 16 & The Killers on Sat., Feb. 17

TNT’s Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal & Kenny Smith to be Live On Site; Fan Fest to Tip Off with Lil Uzi Vert on Thurs., Feb. 15

Turner Sports’ fan-focused NBA on TNT American Express Road Show will originate from L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles for NBA All-Star 2018, highlighted by live telecasts of TNT’s Inside the NBA and performances by award-winning artists Kendrick Lamar on Friday, Feb. 16, and The Killers on Saturday, Feb. 17. The multi-day event will tip off with a performance by Grammy-nominated Lil Uzi Vert on Thursday, Feb. 15.  

Themed around TNT’s popular Sports Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA, the 30,000-square-foot fan fest located just outside STAPLES Center will feature interactive experiences, basketball clinics, a food truck and more over a four-day span (Thursday, Feb. 15, through Sunday, Feb. 18), with highlights including:

TNT’s Inside the NBA Live from Los Angeles
The NBA on TNT American Express Road Show will be anchored by TNT’s Inside the NBA studio team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal with live shows Thursday, Feb. 15, beginning with pregame coverage at 5 p.m. PT (local time), along with halftime and postgame coverage throughout the night; Friday, Feb. 16, with halftime and postgame coverage; and pregame coverage Saturday, Feb. 17, starting at 2 p.m. local PT (5 p.m. ET), and Sunday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET).

Live Thursday Night Performance by Lil Uzi Vert
Award-winning hip hop recording artist Lil Uzi Vert will perform live from the Road Show on Thursday, Feb. 15. TNT will tip off its coverage from Los Angeles with pre-game coverage (beginning at 5 p.m. local time/8 p.m. ET) leading into the network’s coverage of the Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves at 6 p.m. (9 p.m. ET).

Kendrick Lamar to Take Road Show Stage Friday Night
Grammy Award-winning recording artist Kendrick Lamar will perform live from the NBA on TNT American Express Road Show stage at L.A. LIVE’s Microsoft Square on Friday, Feb. 16, following TNT’s postgame coverage of the 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars (held next door at STAPLES Center). This event is exclusively for American Express Card Members – who may purchase tickets via AXS.com starting Tuesday, Feb. 13. Ticket proceeds will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.

The Killers to Perform Live on Saturday Night
Following the release of their No.1 new album, Wonderful Wonderful, and a massive sold out arena tour across the country, The Killers will take center stage for a live performance from the Road Show on Saturday, Feb. 17, following State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. Portions of The Killers’ performance will air during TNT’s All-Star coverage on Sunday.

Fan Festivities Throughout NBA All-Star
The NBA on TNT American Express Road Show will include a series of free events for fans to enjoy Thursday to Sunday:

Inside the NBA Themed Activities: Fans can enjoy a variety of offerings inspired by the Inside the NBA studio team, including personality-themed merchandise, food, drinks, premium giveaways and on-court activities.

Tissot 24-Second Shot Clock Challenge: To celebrate Tissot’s status as Official Watch of the NBA, fans will get to test their NBA knowledge against the iconic Tissot shot clock throughout the weekend. As part of the Tissot 24-Second Challenge, visitors will be able to sit behind the NBA on TNT desk and compete against each other and the countdown clock to win prizes. Washington Wizards 2018 NBA All-Star Bradley Beal will be at the Road Show Friday, Feb. 16, at 1 p.m. local time (4 p.m .ET), and Boston Celtics 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars participant Jayson Tatum will be on site Saturday, Feb. 17, at 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET), on behalf of Tissot to compete against fans in the 24-Second Challenge.

On-Court Hoops Experience: Located at the heart of the activation, NBA fans can show off their hoop skills on the NBA on TNT American Express Road Show basketball court presented by JBL. Planned activities include special on-court contests, NBA legend visits, kids games, fan dunk contests and more.

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey’s “Jack ‘N for Beats”: This mobile studio will feature performances from NBA DJs throughout the weekend, as well as provide fans the opportunity to show off their own karaoke skills.

Fans interested in attending can click here for additional information.

About Turner Sports
Turner Sports, a division of Turner, is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports content across all multimedia screens. Turner Sports’ television coverage includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, ELEAGUE and professional golf, along with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League beginning in Summer 2018.  The company also manages some of the most popular sports destinations across digital and social platforms including Bleacher Report and its top-rated app, NCAA.com and the critically-acclaimed NCAA March Madness Live suite of products, PGA.com and the Sports Emmy Award-winning PGA Championship LIVE, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile sites and connected device apps.  Turner Sports and the NBA jointly manage NBA Digital, a robust collection of offerings including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com. Turner Sports has announced plans to launch a premium sports OTT platform in 2018.

About Kendrick Lamar
Platinum-selling, Grammy-award winning artist Kendrick Lamar is one of the rare artists who has achieved critical and commercial success while earning the respect and support of those who inspired him. A native of Compton, California, Lamar released his debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city in October 2012 which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and earned him seven Grammy Award nominations. His second album, To Pimp a Butterfly, released in March 2015 immediately earned rave reviews and topped the Billboard 200 with sales of 325,000 copies within its first week, despite it coming a week early due to a technical accident. The album garnered Lamar five Grammy nominations with a win for Best Rap Album. On April 14 2017, Lamar released his fourth studio album, DAMN. which sold 603,300 copies in its first week, the largest first week of his career and any other release that year. The album shot directly to number one on the Billboard 200 where it remained for four consecutive weeks. Complex Magazine claimed it is his “most ambitious album to date”, NPR called it “introspective and unforgiving” and Rolling Stone named him “the most gifted rapper of a generation.” DAMN. earned Kendrick four Grammy wins at the 2018 Awards.

About The Killers
The Killers are a Las Vegas-based four-piece who formed in 2003, featuring the talents of singer/keyboardist Brandon Flowers, drummer Ronnie Vannucci, guitarist Dave Keuning and bassist Mark Stoermer.  The band has received countless accolades for their artistic achievement, including multiple Grammy nominations, American Music Award nominations, MTV Video Music Awards, NME Awards and more.  Their first album, Hot Fuss, was released in 2004 to worldwide acclaim.  The album contained the singles “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody Told Me,” in addition to the anthemic song “All These Things That I’ve Done,” which has since been referenced by the likes of U2 and Coldplay.  The band toured for two years straight behind Hot Fuss, playing more than four-hundred shows, and eventually returned to Vegas to begin to work on the follow-up album with legendary producers Alan Moulder and Flood.  The result, a love letter of sorts to their hometown entitled Sam’s Town, was released in 2006 and spent forty-two weeks on the Billboard Top 200.  A b-sides collection entitled Sawdust was released in 2007, followed by their third studio album, Day & Age, which was released to widespread critical praise in 2008, anchored by massive single “Human.”  The Killers released Battle Born in September 2012, which saw them expanding their world tour into countries they’ve never visited before, and finally were honored to perform at the world-renowned Wembley Arena, one of the most monumental and significant shows of their career.  After a decade of making music, in November 2013, The Killers released a “Best Of” collection, Direct Hits, which featured two incredible new songs alongside classics from the band’s revered catalogue.    The band, who have sold over twenty-five million albums worldwide, and headlined all of the world’s top festivals (Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury), released their newest studio album, Wonderful Wonderful, in September 2017, where it landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart the week of its release, as well as topping the charts in the U.K., Mexico, and Australia.  The album is the band’s fifth consecutive number one in the U.K., and Brandon Flowers’ seventh U.K. number one overall. 

About Lil Uzi Vert
Grammy nominated artist Lil Uzi Vert flaunts a vision and fashion sense just as loud as his “futuristic trap” sound and dynamic voice. The Philadelphia native first began to set the internet on fire with his explosive appearance on Carnage’s single “WDYW” alongside A$AP Ferg and Rich The Kid and later his turn on “Big Racks” for Young Thug’s Slime Season 2. Lil Uzi Vert later went on to rock the world with his highly acclaimed debut album, LUV IS RAGE 2, which quickly struck #1 on the Billboard 200 and became RIAA certified gold in less than two months following its release. One of the album’s hit singles “XO Tour Llif3” also went on to earn 7x platinum certification in addition to being recognized as the “Song of the Summer” at the 2017 Video Music Awards. Pitchfork proclaimed the project to be “the Philadelphia native’s most musically developed work” while THE FADER declared that the rapper has “cemented himself as this oft-maligned generation’s true pioneer.” In addition to Lil Uzi Vert’s recent Grammy nomination as “Best New Artist”, he’s also received the “Breakout Artist of the Year Award” and the “Breakthrough Artist” award during Billboard’s 2017 Touring Awards. The rap superstar has also been featured on a number of record-breaking tracks including Migos’ RIAA 4X platinum certified and Grammy nominated “Bad and Boujee” along with DJ Esco’s gold certified “Too Much Sauce” with Future, to name a few. Lil Uzi Vert has notably graced the cover of Billboard’s 2017 “The Year In Music” issue, XXL’s 20th Anniversary Issue and The FADER’s “Sex Issue.”

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