All-Star Game brings familiar faces back to Utah

A few of this year's All-Stars have Utah connections, whether they've played for the hometown team or have family ties.

Here are some players with history here in the hive:

Lauri Markkanen, power forward for the Jazz, is a starter in the All-Star Game and 3-Point Contest.

• He was one of three players the Cleveland Cavaliers traded this fall for Donovan Mitchell and has been exceeding expectations all season.
• He grew up in Jyväskylä, Finland, and is the first All-Star from a Nordic country. Show off that sisu, Lauri!

Donovan Mitchell is back in Salt Lake for the second time since being traded after five seasons with the Jazz.

• He was invited to join the 3-Point Contest but declined.
• Fans were on pins and needles when he returned with the Cavs in January after publicly disclosing that racism had marred his experience in Utah, but he got a warm welcome from his former teammates.

Damian Lillard, a reserve, played for Weber State from 2009 to 2012 before debuting as NBA Rookie of the Year with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he has spent his career.

• He said he came to Weber State to get away from violence he experienced as a teen in Oakland, California, and because coach Randy Rahe's fatherly sternness won him over.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a reserve player, is an older cousin of the briefly-Utahn Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

• Alexander-Walker joined the Jazz this season and was traded last week to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Three Jazz players are competing as a team in Saturday's Skills Challenge.

• Guard Jordan Clarkson has been with the Jazz since 2019.
• Center Walker Kessler arrived in Utah this season, fresh out of college, as part of the Timberwolves' trade for Rudy Gobert.
• Guard Collin Sexton joined the Jazz as part of the same trade as Markkanen.