The All-Star weekend kicked off on Friday the 17th of February to much fanfare. 3 days and 72 hours later, it failed to captivate. Although not completely underwhelming, all the hype going into the weekend simply failed to materialize into the show-stopping event that most were expecting. However, it’s not that surprising that it turned out the way […]
8 years ago
The All-Star weekend kicked off on Friday the 17th of February to much fanfare. 3 days and 72 hours later, it failed to captivate. Although not completely underwhelming, all the hype going into the weekend simply failed to materialize into the show-stopping event that most were expecting. However, it’s not that surprising that it turned out the way it did. Last year in Toronto, we were treated to a historical dunk contest, a Splash brother 3-point showdown, the first instalment of the newly revamped skills challenge and another episode of the Russell Westbrook show. There was less expectation going in and it simply made for the perfect setup to what was one of the best All-Star weekends in recent memory. Amazing All-star weekends like that are almost always followed by a downer that fails to reach the gargantuan heights of the previous year. This year was no different.
It was still a lot of fun to watch though and if you missed any part of it, Here’s a recap of what we observed from the 2017 All-Star weekend:
Celebrity All-Star Game
All-Star weekend kicked off as it usually does with yet another easily overlooked but fun Celebrity game. Social media comedian, Brandon Armstrong (@BdotAdot5) took home the MVP silverware. He put up a different type of LeBron James impression with 16 points and 15 rebounds and even added his trademark James Harden Euro step impression midway through the game.
Jason Williams thrilled with his flashy handles and trick passes while Oscar Schmidt showed some of the skills that has made him world famous. Nick Cannon somehow managed not to leave an impression despite appearing in his record 9th game and still, you can be certain he’ll be back again next year (when does this end??). Master P and his son, Romeo – both New Orleanians – were a welcome addition to the game with both receiving enthusiastic cheers from the home crowd.
Last year’s MVP, Win Butler finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds as he and Brandon led the East to a dominant 88-59 victory. Romeo Miller led the West with 18. The star of the show however wasn’t a celebrity but 14-year old, Jarius Robertson. The Big Easy native is a huge fan of the sport and Master P was more than happy to oblige his request to play. He may have a chronic liver disease but none of that showed on the court as he handled the ball with a dexterity that belied his age or size. Dribbling the ball a few times before knocking down the shot over a much taller defender, Jarius captivated the crowd and was definitely my MVP.
Rising Stars Challenge
The NBA is now a global game and yet another victory for Team World highlighted the ever-increasing pool of non-American talent that are making a name for themselves in the NBA. Behind a hot shooting night from MVP, Jamaal Murray, Team World claimed a 150-141 victory over Team USA. He went 9-14 from outside and scored 27 of his 36 points in the second half.
Buddy Hield (who has now been traded to Sacramento) got it going very quickly, firing up his home crowd and finishing with 19 points at the half. He petered out in the second half however and his failed dunk attempt towards the end of the game highlighted his quiet second half.
D’Angelo Russell provided two of the best highlights of the game with a nasty crossover before knocking down the shot over the Thunder’s Sabonis and then showcasing some flashy handles in the lane before stepping back for a three. He didn’t do much else all night although he did provide 4 assists for the losing team USA.
Karl-Anthony Towns (USA) provided a quiet double double with 24 points and 11 rebounds as well as one of the highlight plays of the game with an alley-oop to an advancing Devin Booker.
Former national college player of the year, Frank Kaminsky got it going from the perimeter, shooting an insane 9-13 for a team-leading 33 points and might have won MVP if his team had won.
Jonathon Simmons – one of the oldest players to ever be named to this game at 27 – had 19 points that featured two athletic dunks and he also added a monster block on Buddy Hield. His rise from undrafted player to the Rising Stars challenge is something of a fairytale and the Spurs player showed all night that it was fully deserved.
Jokic showed off the passing skills that have endeared him to Denver fans all season long and almost finished with a triple double (12 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists).
Team World now leads Team USA 2-1 in the series since the format was restructured three years ago.
All Star Saturday Night
Skills Challenge
The bigs and the ‘smalls’ were back again for the Skills challenge and of course everyone was rooting for the bigs, well, everyone except Reggie Miller.
Gordon Hayward had a surprise run to the final knocking out John Wall and last year’s finalist, Isaiah Thomas on his way.
Kristaps Porzingis and Nikola Jokic are two of the most versatile big men in the NBA and it was no surprise that both made it to the semifinals before ‘the Unicorn’ knocked down his second attempt at the three point line to claim in his place in the final. The shot was just in time too as Jokic banked in his first 3-point attempt seconds later.
In the final round, Porzingis had a perfect round, completing the pass, layup and three point in his first attempts to win the skills challenge.
The bigs have now won the competition twice in a row and continue to remind us of the evolution of the NBA as more and more big men are now playing outside the post.
Three-Point Contest
Klay Thompson was one point shy of qualifying for the final round and it was a huge let down when everyone’s favourite crashed out in the first round. After scoring 27 to claim the title last year, he only finished with a paltry 18 this time around as Eric Gordon, Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving made the final.
With the favourite out of the way, the stage was set for anyone of the three finalist to claim the crown. After putting up 25 in the first round, Eric Gordon looked good for the title in the final round until he missed four of his last five shots to finish level with Kyrie on 20 points. He made no mistake in the tie breaker round though and his 21 points were good enough to put him past Irving as teammate, James Harden visibly cheered on the sidelines.
Dunk Contest
Probably the most anticipated event on Saturday night, the contest was a huge let-down for most (if not all) who witnessed it. Several missed dunks and a general dearth of creativity were the hallmarks of this contest and despite a few eye-opening dunks including the clincher, the contest simply failed to delight as it should have.
Aaron Gordon was projected to run away with the crown but he seemed to be a step slow all night; this may have been due to a foot injury he suffered prior to the weekend. He showed the most creativity – attempting to dunk on an assist from an Intel drone, yes, a drone – but his athleticism failed him and he couldn’t complete his first round dunks on the first attempts. Let’s hope he’ll be back next year fully recovered and refreshed, hungering to show us what he couldn’t this year.
Deandre Jordan’s dunk attempt over a DJ booth manned by DJ Khaled while he recorded a snapchat video may have been poetic but it simply wasn’t as enthralling is it could have been and a weak second dunk saw him crash out in the first round.
Derrick Jones Jr showed some incredible hops and would have been wishing his first round dunk off the side of the backboard and through the legs was saved for the final round. He tried to complete a dunk over four people but was unable to and the failed attempts on that dunk would come back to haunt him.
Glenn Robinson III claimed the honors of Dunk King in the dampened affair with spectacular athleticism that saw him jump over people multiple times; he clinched the title with a jaw-dropping reverse dunk over Paul George, the Pacers mascot and a Pacers dance team member. He was literally inches (and figuratively miles) above the other contestants, a well deserved victory for the rookie.
All Star Game
This year’s All Star game had quite the storylines going into it but in the end, hometown hero, Anthony Davis stole the show with a record shattering 52 points to lead the West to a comfortable 192 – 182 victory. He scored the first points of the game and repeatedly finished off lob after lob as he obliterated Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star record of 42 points.
Questions about whether Russell would pass to Durant and vice versa were easily put to rest when both parties connected for one of the best plays of the game. Russ fed Durant the ball in the post and then caught the alley-oop from Kevin to finish off the play with a strong dunk. There was a mock celebration on the bench when both of them checked out and even though they only shared 82 seconds on the court together, there may yet be hope for a reconciliation after all. Russell Westbrook finished with 41 points in just 19 minutes, going full throttle as he always does anytime he is on the floor and Kevin Durant became just the fourth player to notch a triple double in the All-Star game as he finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving had 14 assists while LeBron James had 23 points on 10-17 shooting including a ridiculous shot from half court (who knew he had the range?!) and an alley-oop to himself off the backboard.
First timer, Giannis Antetokoumpo also had a strong showing in his first All-Star game as he swiped the ball multiple times and made some highlight reel dunks. His best play of the night came when he rebounded a missed shot and then put Steph Curry on a poster with a strong finish through the hoop. He made the most of his first appearance as he led the East with 30 points.
Big Winners: New Orleans
The Big Easy hosted its third All-Star game and had some of its hometown favourites competing in multiple events. Anthony Davis’ 52 points might be the best thing that has happened to the Pelicans and New Orleans this basketball season and the fans must have been delighted to witness it.
The city of magic and spookiness also got its own Boogeyman as the Pelicans completed a trade for Sacramento’s Demarcus Cousins to bring together the NBA’s best front court talent together. This pair might be the best front court pair since Duncan and the Admiral and will be a force to watch out for in the second half of the season.
Big Losers: Saturday Night Favourites
All three favourites going into Saturday Night’s events somehow conspired to flop massively. Isaiah Thomas’ defeat to Gordon Hayward as well as Klay Thompson and Aaron Gordon’s exits in the first round of their respective competitions had us wondering if there truly are any favourites coming into the events.
