2023 NBA All-Star Weekend Recap
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (PSF)- All-Star Weekend in the NBA wrapped up this past weekend. This year saw a return to a highly-rated dunk contest, something fans have said has been pretty weak and unexciting in recent years. The skills challenge had a team format, which it switched to in 2022. The three-point contest and All-Star game were business as usual.
the skills challenge
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The three teams competing in the skills challenge were Team Antetokounmpo, comprised of Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Alex Antetokounmpo, and honorary brother Jrue Holiday. Giannis was not able to compete in the contest due to injury.
The other teams were Team Rooks, comprised of Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, and Jabari Smith Jr., and Team Jazz, comprised of Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and Collin Sexton. Team Jazz won the event, winning two out of the three rounds of the challenge: the passing round and the shooting round.
The passing round consisted of throwing passes through nets. Players had to throw a 30-foot chest pass, a 25-foot bounce pass, and a 35-foot chest pass. In the shooting round, players alternated shooting from spots worth one point up to five points.
the three point contest
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This event was a star-studded contest with players like Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyler Herro. Tyrese Haliburton led all shooters with 31 in the first round. Lillard came in second with 26 points. Kings guard Kevin Huerter had the lowest performance of the night with just 8 points.
Buddy Hield came in third with 23 to advance to the championship round, along with Lillard and Haliburton. In the final round, it was Dame Time as he edged out Buddy Hield 25 points with 26 to win the three-point contest, his first career win in this competition.
the dunk contest
This dunk contest was seen as a noticeable improvement from other recent years. Although we had arguably the most unrecognizable group of dunkers we’ve ever had, it was a great showing. Mac McClung, a recently called-up player from the G-League and now on the 76ers on a two-way contract, won the contest.
MaClung received three 50-point scores on his dunks. He went into the final round with Trey Murphy III, a shooting guard for the Pelicans. With this performance from McClung, many were saying that he saved the dunk contest.
all-star game
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Team Giannis won this year’s All-Star game, beating Team LeBron 184-175. This game had the feature of a team winning each individual quarter. The team with the most points received $100,000 donated to their charity of choice. Team LeBron chose Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah, and Team Giannis chose Raise the Future.
The game was tied up 46-46 at the end of the first quarter, so the money was split, and $50,000 was donated to each organization. In the second quarter, Team Giannis came out on top 53-46. They would score the most points again in the third quarter, winning 59-49. Team LeBron scored the most points in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late, as Team Giannis still took home the win.
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In this game, there was even less defense in this notoriously relaxed defensive affair. Sure, seeing all the alley-oops and flashy dunks for a while was nice, but then it just seemed a little boring to me. I mean, where’s the tenacity? Where’s the competitiveness?
In the last couple minutes of each quarter, when it would be decided who would win each quarter, Candace Parker said on the broadcast that there would be a heightened level of competition and more defense. I didn’t really see that. The players seemed to be just playing the same way they had been for the rest of the quarter.
Jayson Tatum won All-Star MVP with 55 points, a record for most points scored in an All-Star game. The previous mark was set by Anthony Davis, who had 52 in 2017.