NBA out to cash in on Jeremy Lin's popularity at All-Star weekend

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From an obscure benchwarmer to an overnight sporting sensation, Jeremy Lin has taken the NBA by storm.

His swift rise is nothing short of a Cinderella story. The American-born Taiwanese, whose mother has Chinese roots, single-handedly changed the fortunes of his team as he led the New York Knicks to a seven-game winning streak.

The point guard's buzzer-beater - a match-winning three-pointer - against Toronto Raptors last week captivated the basketball lovers and created media frenzy across the world, earning him sobriquets such as Linsanity, Lindrella and Linception. His No.17 jersey, in no time, became the NBA's hottest selling merchandise and the Lin bug bit even US president Barack Obama.

The emergence of Lin can't have come at a better time for the NBA, which was looking for an Asian hero after the retirement of Houston Rocket's centre Yao Ming. The towering Yao was instrumental to NBA's marketing success in China.

The NBA is now cashing in on the 'Linsanity' to spice up its midseason extravaganza - the 61st All-Star weekend that begins at Orlando from February 24. Lin was an eleventh-hour addition to the Rising Stars Challenge, which will see a blend of rookies and sophomores (second-year players) playing for Team Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) and Team Chucks (Charles Barkley).

The showpiece event of the All-Star weekend, however, will be the Slam Dunk contest. This year it features a series of firsts - four debutants, a single-round format in which the winner will be chosen only by a fan vote, and the introduction of voting via Twitter. The four players who will vie for honours are Chase Budinger (Houston Rockets), Paul George (Indiana Pacers), Iman Shumpert (New York Knicks) and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves).

The contest will consist of only one round and each competitor will execute three dunks. Fan voting will open after the completion of one round of dunking by all four players.

Previously, the Slam Dunk contest comprised two rounds, with the first assessed by a panel of judges to determine the two finalists.

After the three-point contest and skills challenge, the carnival will culminate with an All-Star game on Sunday. Based on fan voting, the five starters for the Eastern and Western Conference teams were selected while the coaches will pick the All-Star reserves.

All-star starting line-up (East): Carmelo Anthony (New York), LeBron James (Miami), Derrick Rose (Chicago), Dwyane Wade (Miami), Dwight Howard (Orlando). West: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Blake Griffin (LA Clippers), Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers), Chris Paul (LA Clippers).

Slam-Dunk participants: Chase Budinger (Houston Rockets), Paul George (Indiana Pacers), Iman Shumpert (Newyork Knicks), Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves).

Three-point contest: Ryan Anderson (Orlando), Mario Chalmers (Miami), Joe Johnson (Atlanta), James Jones (Miami), Anthony Morrow (New Jersey), Kevin Love (Minnesota).