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The All Star Weekend is done and it was a great break from the hectic schedule of the NBA. Team LeBron overcame Team Curry in one of the most closely and intensely fought All Star Games in a very long time. Both teams were neck and neck until the final minute where Team LeBron pushed ahead and took the game 148-145.
The Celebrities game and the Team USA vs Rest of the World were also riveting and fun to watch on day 1 while the Skills challenge, 3 point contest and the Dunk contest had a jovial yet competitive vibe on day 2. Let's have a look at the biggest winners from the All Star Weekend 2018:
6. Quavo (Migos): MVP of the Celebrities game 2018
The Celebrities game this year had a whole host of stars featuring on both sides. Team Clippers had Paul Pierce as a player-coach, Jaime Foxx, Bubba Watson, Andre DeGrasse, Quavo and Jason Williams among others. Team Lakers had Tracy McGrady as player-coach, Justin Bieber, Nick Cannon, Rachel DeMita and Nate Robinson. Team Clippers managed to beat Team Lakers 75-66 off of Quavo's and DeGrasse's performances. Rachel DeMita tried for the Lakers but it just wasn't enough.
Quavo scored 19 points from 7-10 shooting while grabbing 5 rebounds and 3 assists. DeGrasse also chipped in with 17 points. Nick Cannon continued being the worst player in the NBA celebrity game history by again ending up on the losing side. DeMita tried her best in a 17 point showing, shooting 6-10 from the field and also hitting a 3 pointer.
5. Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings): MVP of the Team USA vs Team World
Team USA vs Team Rest of the World was a great game for both the neutral and the ardent fans of the game. It had everything one needed from the game, including a dunk contest of sorts towards the end. Team World had overcome Team USA 155-124 to an easy win.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was the MVP on the night, scoring 26 points and 6 assists, shooting 58.7% from the field. Buddy Hield also had a great night, scoring a team-high 29 points. But Bogdanovic was not to be outdone, carrying the team forward and further from the USA team. Despite a bad night for team USA, Jaylen Brown had a great game, leading the court with 35 points.
4. Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn Nets): Winner of the Skills challenge:
The Skills Challenge had a great mix of some sleek centres and some sneaky guards, making it an interesting challenge. Al Horford went up against Joel Embiid in the 1st round and it was Embiid who came out the winner. Next up Spencer was against Buddy Hield, where Spencer came out victorious. Jamal Murray beat Lou Williams and Lauri bested Drummond with ease.
Lauri then went up against Joel "The Process'' Embiid and took him out with ease while Spencer took on Murray and beat him to reach the finals. Spencer then showed his silky footwork and made quick work of Markannen to take him the title. He deserved every bit of it after a great showing this season for the Nets and a sublime performance to top it off at the Skills Challenge.
3. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns): Winner of the 3-pt Contest:
The 3-point contest had some elite shooters in the mix for the title with Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Wayne Ellington, Paul George, Kyle Lowry, Tobias Harris, Klay Thompson and last year's winner, Eric Gordon. The 1st round had some surprises our way and last year's champion Eric Gordon was eliminated alongside Ellington, George, Beal and Lowry.
The finals consisted of Booker, Harris and Klay Thompson, who was the crowd and the favourite to win. Harris went first but could only manage 17 points. Booker went next and set a new record for most points earned in the 3-point contest with 28. Klay tried and came close but could only reach 25 points. Booker showed that one half of the Splash Brothers is not unbeatable and rose to win the prestigious title.
2. Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz): Winner of the Slam Dunk Contest:
The Slam Dunk contest this time was a throwback to the good old days, with all the 4 participants almost re-creating legendary dunks. The 4 participants were Victor Oladipo, Dennis Smith Jr., Larry Nance Jr. and Donovan Mitchell. Victor Oladipo messed up his first dunk but almost covered it up with a Black Panther dunk, bringing in some showmanship but was eliminated. Dennis Smith Jr. also had not had a clean first round but his creativity and amazing athleticism put him into the reckoning but was anyways eliminated.
Donovan Mitchell pulled out all the stops in his first season, dunking over Kevin Hart, his son and his sister for dunk #2 after an impressive first dunk, propelling him to the top spot and into the final round. Larry Nance gave him a tough fight, both in the first round as well as the final round, with his second dunk being very impressive, landing a perfect score. But Mitchell channelled his inner Vince Carter and won the dunk contest by just 1 point, dashing Nance's hopes of winning in front of his father.
1. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers): MVP of All Star Game:
No All Star game is complete without a star-studded performance from the King, LeBron James. This was without a doubt one of the best All Star Games in a long long time, finally fixing the boring debacle that the East v West had become. There were 26 fouls committed and a protest over a replay review, unheard of in an All Star game. It came down to the final possession and some amazing clutch defence from Team LeBron to seal the win, 148-145.
LeBron had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, almost a triple double and led his team to victory. Finally, an All Star game had the intensity of a real basketball match, all 24 players showing their will to win and beat their opponents, which was evident in the final 10 seconds where team Lebron played some stunning defence to lockdown Curry and DeRozan and win the game. Damian Lillard tried a comeback with DeRozan from the bench, both scoring 21 points each but it was not enough to overcome Team LeBron, led by the MVP captain, who was well supported by Kevin Durant with 19 points. This weekend was a certain success and everyone will now look forward to the next All Star weekend if this one was so exciting.
Guess the Lakers players!
