The Associated Press

All-Star weekend has started. It’s in San Francisco this year, and the NBA’s annual midseason showcase is underway.

It started Friday night with the Rising Stars competition for first- and second-year players, and the dunk and 3-point contest on Saturday and then the All-Star Game on Sunday night once Saturday’s games have been decided.

Team C has won the Rising Stars competition and advanced to take on LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in an All-Star Game semifinal.

San Antonio’s Stephon Castle scored 12 points and Keyonte George had a 3-pointer for the game-winning score to help Team C beat Team G League in the Rising Stars championship game.

Team C was named for Chris Mullin in honor of the former Golden State Warriors star. Team G League was made up of players from the NBA’s developmental league.

HOF finalists set

SAN FRANCISCO — Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are one step closer to going into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

If all goes well, they might get in twice.

Anthony and Howard were among the finalists announced Friday by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame for enshrinement as part of the class of 2025. They both made it as individuals — and for their roles on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that won gold at the Beijing Games, the so-called “Redeem Team” that also is now one step from induction.

Also announced as finalists on Friday: women’s basketball greats and Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Jennifer Azzi. Bird won five Olympic golds, Fowles won four, Moore won two, and Azzi was part of the team that won gold at Atlanta in 1996.

The other finalists as picked by the North American committee were Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan (a two-time NCAA champion coach at Florida); Gonzaga coach Mark Few; retired NBA referee Danny Crawford; NBA legends Marques Johnson and Buck Williams; and Jerry Welsh — who coached Potsdam in upstate New York to NCAA Division III titles in 1981 and 1986.

Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison is also a finalist for enshrinement. Arison was put forward by the Contributors Committee, as was longtime Maccabi Tel Aviv star Tal Brody.

The Women’s Veteran Committee put forward Molly Bolin, who was the first player signed by the Women’s Professional Basketball League.

And the International Committee selected as a finalist former Serbian professional player and longtime coach Dusan Ivkovic — already a FIBA Hall of Famer.

The finalists have one more step to go: the Hall’s Honors Committee will meet in the coming weeks, with 18 votes from that 24-person panel needed for election. The class will be unveiled at the NCAA men’s Final Four in San Antonio on April 5.

“Selection as a finalist for the Class of 2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a remarkable achievement, signifying a career of excellence and lasting influence on the game,” Colangelo said. “This recognition goes beyond statistics and accolades — it honors those who have defined eras, inspired generations, and elevated basketball through their talent, leadership and dedication.”

Enshrinement weekend is Sept. 5-6 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Media, lifetime achievement awards

Detroit Pistons play-by-play announcer George Blaha, CBS analyst Clark Kellogg, women’s basketball writer Michelle Smith and influential NBA journalist Adrian Wojnarowski were revealed Friday as the winners of this year’s Curt Gowdy Media Awards by the Hall of Fame.

The Gowdy awards, the Hall said, are “presented to members of the print, electronic, and transformative media whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.”

Also honored Friday was longtime Boston Celtics vice president of media and alumni relations Jeff Twiss, who received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. That award, the Hall said, is “the most prestigious award presented by the Hall of Fame” other than enshrinement.

Blaha has been the voice of the Pistons since 1976. Kellogg joined CBS Sports in 1993 and has been a part of its NCAA Tournament coverage for more than three decades. Smith has written for ESPN, the San Francisco Chronicle and AOL Fanhouse, among others. Wojnarowski was a news-breaker for ESPN and a New York Times best-selling author who retired from journalism last year to become the general manager of the men’s basketball team at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure.

Twiss has been with the Celtics since 1981, and Boston has won four NBA titles in that span.

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