This past weekend the All-Star events included the dunk contest, three-point contest, and skills challenge took place in Indiana at Gainbridge Stadium. These are historically incredibly entertaining events that include some of the most talented and athletically gifted players in the world.
This year the dunk contest included All-Star Jaylen Brown, high school phenom Mac McClung, rookie Jacob Toppin brother of Obi Toppin who won the dunk contest in 2022, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. who has established himself as a valuable asset for the Miami Heat. There were some incredible dunks but Mac McClung was able to win yet another year to secure a back-to-back dunk contest championship. There are a lot of questions surrounding this contest. Are there any more dunks that can be done? How can we improve the dunk contest? What if we made it professional dunkers vs. the NBA? All of these questions desperately need to be answered to keep the culture and love for All-Star weekend. Jr. Sahil Patel said, “I think overall the NBA dunk contest has gotten to be less and less interesting every year, however, Mac McClung happened to save it the past 2 years. Some changes I think that could be made is maybe sticking to well-known names around the league. The dunk contest fans will feel more connected to the contest and engaged.” It’s necessary to keep the dunk contest entertaining because of its significance to All-Star weekend.
The three-point contest included Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, Trae Young, Lauri Markkanen, Karl Anthony-Towns, Jalen Brunson, Malik Beasley, and Donovan Mitchell. There was also an added event of a Sabrina vs. Steph Curry three-point challenge. Damian Lillard took home the three-point contest championship scoring a high of 26 in the final round. The highly anticipated Sabrina vs. Steph Curry challenge was as exciting as anticipated. Sabrina started it off lighting it up with 26 tying it up with men’s three-point contest champion Damian Lillard. She had a great round but not enough to keep up with the greatest three-point shooter of all time, Steph Curry, who put up 29 to win the competition. I thought this was a great addition to the all-star weekend to bring more attention to the WNBA and also add a new exciting competition to bring in more viewers.
The last competition of the weekend was the NBA skills challenge involving passing, shooting, and dribbling which is all timed as players try to get the fastest time for their team in the competition. “Team Pacers” was represented by Tyrese Haliburton, Benedict Mathurin, and Myles Turner. “Team Top Picks” included Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards, and Victor Wembanyama. The final team “Team All-Stars” had a loaded roster of Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey, and Trae Young. Team Pacers were able to take the NBA skills challenge home. This event may need the most change and improvement to keep All-Star Weekend alive. Jr. Eric Powell said, “There is a desperate need for change because it showcases players’ true talent.” It is a great concept but some tweaks could be made to make it a more entertaining event.
All-Star Weekend is a historical event that is one of the most exciting events during the NBA season. There need to be changes to keep that excitement. The NBA knows this which we can see with the addition of the Curry vs. Sabrina three-point contest. As the NBA keeps tweaking and making more additions to All-Star weekend hopefully we can continue the culture of bringing the best talents in the world together as they put on a show for all NBA fans around the world.
This past Sunday was the All-Star game for the NBA. For those who don’t know what the All-Star game is, it’s where the fans select NBA players in a voting poll divided by the Eastern and the Western Conference, the two highest votes are the captains. This year’s captain was Lebron James(averaging 24pts 7ast 7rebs)) for the Western Conference and Giannis Antetokounmpo(averaging 30pts 6ast 11 rebs)for the Eastern Conference.
The Eastern Conference team consisted of Bam Adebayo who plays for the Miami Heat and is averaging 20pts 4ast 10rebs a game, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers who’s averaging 21pts 11ast and 3 rebs a game, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks who’s averaging 24pts 6ast 4rebs, Jayson Tatum who plays for the Boston Celtics and is averaging 27pts 4ast and 8rebs. The reserve team was Palo Banchero who plays for the Orlando Magic, Scottie Barnes who plays for the Tronto Raptors, Jaylen Brown who plays for the Boston Celtics, Jalen Brunson who plays for the New York Knicks, Tyrese Maxey who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, Donavon Mitchell who plays the Cleveland Cavaliers, Trae Young who plays for the Atlanta Hawks.
The Western Conference team consisted of Luka Doncic Who plays for the Dallas Mavericks and is averaging 34pts, Kevin Durant who plays for the Pheonix Suns and is averaging 28pts 5ast and 6rebs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who plays for the OKC Thunder and is averaging 31pts 6ast and 5rebs, Nikola Jokic who plays for the Denver Nuggets and is averaging 26pts 8ast and 12 rebs. The reserves team consisted of Devin Booker who plays for the Phoenix Suns, Steph Curry who plays for the Golden State Warriors, Anthony Davis who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Edwards who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Paul George who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, Kawhi Leonard who also plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, and Karl Anthony Towns who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The game itself was the highest-scoring game in all-star history. The East took the win 211-186 with Karl Anthony Towns scoring 50pts the highest amount of points scored by a player in all-star history. Damian Lillard was the MVP of the game which was his first time winning it he also won the 3-point contest that took place on Saturday during the various event games. Usually, the All-star game isn’t as competitive this year it was more competitive with the league’s best scores being on the teams. Next year All-Star Weekend will take place in San Francisco.
