Every year in mid-February, the NBA pauses games for five days, and holds a weekend full of various basketball related festivities. This is a dream come true for basketball fans like myself, who would like nothing more than a full weekend of NBA action. This year, All-Star Weekend did not disappoint, as it was one of the best in recent memory.
On Friday, the NBA held the Celebrity Game which included celebrities such as Quavo and Common. I won’t lie, the Celeb Game might be the least exciting part of the weekend as some celebrities struggle hard on the court. However, this year, rapper Common showed out and came away with 2o points and the MVP award. Following the Celeb Game, the best young players in the NBA took the court in the Rising Stars Challenge. The players are then divided into 2 teams: the U.S. team and the World team. (The World team takes any young NBA player that was born outside the U.S.). The game included marquee players such as Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. But it was Miles Bridges who stole the show, as his 20 points fueled the U.S. team to a 151-131 victory over the World team.
Next, on All-Star Saturday Night, the NBA held the Skills Challenge, the Three Point Contest, and the Dunk Contest. The Dunk Contest was the highlight of the night, as two dunkers, Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr., stole the show. The event went into double overtime, with Derrick Jones eventually winning in a controversial finish.
Last but definitely not least, the All-Star game was held on Sunday night. It took the best players from both the Western and Eastern Conferences, and divided them into two teams. The game was highly anticipated as it was the first All-Star game since the death of NBA legend, Kobe Bryant. Various nods to Kobe and his daughter Gianna, were seen throughout the game. The most obvious was players wearing the numbers 24 and 2, which were the numbers of Kobe and his daughter. And in the 4th quarter, the two teams played to reach the score of 24, which made for a highly entertaining end to the game. This All-Star game was arguably the best and most competitive ever as both teams tried to pay their respects to Kobe. Overall, this All-Star Weekend is one I’ll never forget.
This All-Star weekend was definitely one of the best in my lifetime. I think that it was so great because it was the duty of the NBA to properly honor Kobe Bryant on the first All-Star weekend since his death, as they did and some more. My favorite part of the All-Star weekend was the dunk contest for sure. One of my favorite NBA players, Pat Connaughton, participated in it as he put on a show. I believed that he should have made it to the final two, but the judges said otherwise. Aaron Gordon had one of the best dunk contest performances of all time and he still didn’t win as Dwayne Wade gave him a 9 for one of his dunks. Derrick Jones Jr. won unfortunately, but he did have some great dunks. The All-Star game was amazing to watch too. The new format which allowed the two teams to have a very close game at the end which was very entertaining. The All-Star game had many Kobe Bryant tributes as many players and coaches gave their respects to one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Kobe’s impact on this game goes beyond basketball as he was an active leader in the Los Angeles community. All in all I hope next year’s All-Star game is as great as it was this year.