NBA All-Star Weekend Recap

NBA fans saw new faces and formats this All-Star Weekend. The events kicked off Friday and concluded with a tournament-style All-Star Game format on Sunday night. In this article, we break down the events.  

Castrol Rising Stars

San Antonio Spurs Rookie Stephon Castle won the Rising Star’s MVP award. Castle led his team to a win with 12 points and two assists in the final game. Other standouts were Grady Dick and Amen Thompson, each scoring 11 and 12 points respectively in the semifinal. The league’s future is bright with the new generation of talent from the 2023 and 2024 draft classes.

Skills Challenge

Hopes were high for the skilled duo of Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama. However, both were disqualified because they did not make legitimate shot attempts during the shooting components of the competition. While most fans thought CP3 devised the plan, it was actually Wemby.

It would be nice to see the duo return next year playing by the rules.

Donavan Mitchell and his Cavs teammate Evan Mobley won with a time of 1:00:04 in the final round. The skilled duo and their team are the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with a 44-10 record. The chemistry between the two is a significant reason why they are playing exceptionally well.

Three-Point Contest

Unfortunately, Damien Lillard did not pull off a three-peat. The Miami Heat’s Tyler Hero won the competition with a score of 24 in the final round. Buddy Hield fell short by just one point. Hield had the highest score of the competition with 31, tying Stephen Curry’s contest record. This three-point competition did not see a WNBA vs NBA matchup, which was highly entertaining between Curry and the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu last year.

The NBA should do whatever it can to get Caitlin Clark into the competition next year. Perhaps a 2v2 between Curry, Lillard, Clark, and Ionescu could even be a possibility. Bringing back the WNBA vs NBA dynamic would be entertaining for all basketball fans.  

Slam Dunk Contest

Mac McClung became the first player to three-peat in the NBA dunk contest. Castle gave a great effort, but McLung’s creativity and consistency gave him the edge in scoring. Despite how entertaining McLung was, NBA fans still want to see stars like Ja Morant in the contest. Hopefully, future potential stars like Castle will continue to compete in the contest.

NBA All-Star Game

Shaq’s Og’s won the inaugural tournament-style All-Star game. Stephen Curry was named the tournament’s MVP. While the first two games were competitive, the third took a sloppy turn. Several moments and events also disappointed some viewers and players.

Delays

The Mr. Beast Challenge was a segment the event could have done without, and the tribute to the TNT crew disrupted the rhythm of the players in the third game. Jayson Tatum stated, “It was kind of tough to get back into the game after that.” “If they could just find a way to not have that long intermission in between the games or during the game, I think it would be a lot better.” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also stated it would be better to play without breaks.

Draymond Green’s Comments

In addition to the sloppiness and disorganization, Draymond Green’s comments did not help sell the format to NBA fans. Sure, fans may have been feeling that same way, but bashing arguably the most important weekend of the year was not a positive moment for the league.

Injuries: Lebron James & Anthony Edwards

Lebron James and Anthony Edwards should have also been transparent about their injuries. There were deserving players like Norman Powel and/or Lamelo Ball who could have filled those spots.

Future of the All-Star Game

The NBA should implement a Team USA vs World Team format next year. Additionally, the league should aim to create new incentives for the players.  

Adam Silver is doing everything he can to appease NBA fans, but at the end of the day, it is incumbent upon the players to perform.