(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ximena Corral, 8, shows off her temporary tattoo during the NBA Crossover media preview party Feb. 16, 2023, inside the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Downtown Salt Lake City got its first taste Thursday of what the busy NBA All-Star Weekend has in store — as the NBA Crossover, a fan experience at the Salt Palace Convention Center, kicked off.
According to the league’s website, the event is “a multi-day interactive fan event that brings basketball culture to the forefront, featuring player appearances, live performances and unique activations focused on art, music, fashion, technology and entertainment.”
Some of the offerings inside the Crossover event include displays of historical basketball jerseys — including Utah Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone’s jerseys when they played in the 1993 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City — and an mirror-lined “infinity room” holding trophies. At another display, people could get a “photo with Larry,” aka the Larry O’Brien Trophy, given to the league champion at the end of NBA Finals.
A number of the NBA’s corporate sponsors — including AT&T, Kia, Canada Goose, Starry soda and Wilson sporting goods — have booths with games and giveaways. In the NBA Jam Session, fans can partake in mini-games and activities. At Center Stage, in the Salt Palace’s Grand Ballroom, there will be concerts from such artists as Pitbull, The Kid Laroi, G-Eazy, Saweetie and Ria.
During Thursday’s preview, South African illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane was at the WNBA’s Creators Court booth, which carries custom stickers she designed. The stickers celebrate basketball and Black culture, while nodding to the WNBA’s history — including a sticker honoring the Utah Starzz, one of the league’s original teams (before relocating to San Antonio and later Las Vegas, where they now play as the Aces).
Moletsane — who also painted the Utah Jazz mural on the side of Valter’s Osteria on 300 South in downtown Salt Lake City — said she has a long history with basketball, because all three of her brothers play the game back home in Johannesburg.
“I kind of had the culture ingrained in me from pretty young,” she said. “As soon as I learned how to draw, basketball themes carried on into my work.” When the WNBA sent her an email to collaborate and combine her two passions — art and basketball — it all came together for her.
It took 21 hours for Moletsane to travel to Salt Lake City, and she said she’s excited to be in Utah for All-Star Weekend. “This is history in the making,” she said. “It’s the first time WNBA has had such a prominent presence within NBA weekend and culture.”
Moletsane said she hopes people keep in mind the presence and significance of the WNBA, which she said often gets pushed to the side in favor of the men’s game. “It’s pretty cool to be one of the starters and igniters of this new change,” she said.
Amid all the hustle, with a DJ mixing tracks in the middle of the room, a local voice was getting its due as well. Craft Lake City has a booth in the NBA Crossover, a pop-up tattoo parlor space that will host six to seven different Salt Lake-area designers and artists — creating Sharpie tattoos of their custom artwork for anyone who wants one.
On Thursday, artist Ricky Vigil was drawing Jazz-inspired tattoos for media attendees.
Kimberly Rosler, the community events assistant with Craft Lake City, said this weekend they’re hoping to elevate Utah’s creative culture, artists and their non-profit work.
“It’s really important for us to be represented here, because so many people from all over the country are coming through here,” Rosler said. “Maybe not a lot of people understand how creative and artistic Salt Lake City is, or that we have that kind of culture here.”
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Editor’s note • Tribune culture editor Sean P. Means contributed to this article.