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The culmination of the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend happened on Sunday when the Eastern Conference stars beat their Western Conference counterparts. Behind Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton, the East roared to a record-breaking night, thrashing their opponents 211-186.
“Dame Time” was named the MVP to cap off a superb weekend that also netted him a second straight 3-point shootout title.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wanted to make the event as exciting and entertaining as possible. The fans also wanted to enjoy as much as they could from the scheduled activities. Like most hyped-up events, there came the inevitable highlights and lowlights.
Lowlights of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend
#3 Team Pau losing to Team Detlef
Team Pau was the heavy favorite to win the Rising Stars Challenge of the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend. They were supposed to dispatch Team Detlef, which was composed of G League players. Schrempf’s team likely heard the disrespect and pulled off the biggest upset throughout the weekend.
It didn’t matter that Pau Gasol had Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandin Podziemski and Jabari Smith Jr. Schrempf’s team went to a big lead and played just enough poise down the stretch to beat the highly-touted favorites.
Most fans wanted to see Wembanyama lift his first NBA hardware. Instead, they couldn’t even get to the championship round.
#2 Jaylen Brown’s dunk over Kai Cenat
Jaylen Brown created a buzz when he decided to join the 2024 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk contest. He was the first All-Star to participate in the event since 2017. Brown had the chance of becoming the first All-Star to win the contest since John Wall did it in 2014.
The Boston Celtics guard, after leading all entries with a 48.8 score in the first round, wanted to be more creative. He brought in teammate Jayson Tatum and the popular streamer Kai Cenat. Brown had the 5-foot-3 YouTube sensation sit on a chair while Tatum stood to the side ready to make the pass.
Jaylen Brown received the alley-oop from Tatum before flushing it through the rim. Almost comically, he covered his eyes when the dunk had been completed. He must have wanted to give tribute to Dee Brown, the former Celtic who won the contest in 1991. The former player triumphed by executing a no-look dunk, something that the current Boston star hilariously failed to accomplish.
Still, he moved on to the championship but his attempt was ridiculed on social media.
#1 Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points but the Western Conference All-Stars lost
Karl-Anthony Towns dropped a game-high 50 points in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. Despite his effort, the Western Conference stars were nearly run off the court by the East. Town became just the fourth player in the history of the event to hit the half-century mark. He is also the only one to have lost the MVP despite having an explosive night.
Jayson Tatum had 55 points last year, Anthony Davis erupted for 52 in 2017 and Steph Curry had 50 in 2022. Each of them led their respective teams to the win and later earned All-Star Game MVPs. Towns couldn’t achieve the same feat and was trolled by Draymond Green who covered the game for TNT:
“This is like the old Minnesota [Timberwolves] days. KAT [Towns] got 40, they down 20”
Highlights of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend
Mac McClung defends his Slam Dunk championship
Last year, the league decided to bring a G Leaguer to help revive interest in the Slam Dunk Contest. Jaylen Brown’s entry helped add star power to the event Mac McClung was favored to repeat in the 2024 NBA All-Star dunk competition.
The Osceola Magic guard couldn’t replicate his mind-boggling 2023 performance but he was nonetheless impressive. He added entertainment to the championship round by bringing out Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The LA Lakers big man held the ball over his head before McClung jumped over him for a behind-the-head slam.
For the second straight year, the unassuming G Leaguer saved the competition.
#1 Steph Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu
The special 3-point shootout between Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu may have been the saving grace of the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend. Two of the deadliest 3-point shooters alive battled for a belt that probably nobody cared to win. They just went out and competed to give the fans the contest that many had been waiting for.
Ionescu dropped 26 points, a score that would have pushed her to the finals of the regular 3-point shootout. Curry responded with a flurry to eke out a 29-26 victory. The league didn’t plan it to be the centerpiece of the 2024 NBA All-Star festivities. Based on the reaction from the fans, that might have been the center attraction that they all had been waiting for.
