Victor Wembanyama, NBA All-Star weekend arrive in Indianapolis

NBA's All-Star weekend in Indianapolis officially opened Thursday night with a tip-off party.

There is something for everyone during the four-day celebration of basketball. There are all the traditional NBA on-court events — the Rising Stars and celebrity games on Friday; the dunk contest, 3-point shootout and skills competition on Saturday; then the All-Star Game itself on Sunday. Added to the slate for Saturday: a 3-point contest between NBA shooting king Stephen Curry and WNBA 3-point contest record-holder Sabrina Ionescu.

There's a game between a pair of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as the NBA continues to give HBCU institutions part of the All-Star spotlight. This year, the game is Virginia Union against Winston-Salem State on Saturday afternoon. This weekend, a glass LED court is set to be part of the show on Friday and Saturday. There's even a fan event called NBA Crossover, set up in a 350,000-square-foot space where ticketholders can try virtual reality headsets, test out the latest offerings from Jordan Brand, play with an airless basketball, even get a haircut while playing video games. And there's a brunch honouring icons of the game on Sunday, an event that's almost as tough a ticket to get as the game itself.

San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama did not make the All-Star Game proper, but he will be participating in the Rising Stars game - when the league's top promising players a chance to get a feel for the big stage - and Saturday's skills competition.

Above all else, it's a weekend for the fans. The All-Stars who'll play Sunday combined to get more than 60 million votes from fans around the world. The game will be shown in more than 210 countries and territories, broadcast in 60 languages, and fans from at least 34 different nations have bought tickets to come to Indianapolis this weekend.