It started with the awkward, moved on into the history-making amazing; jumped into an exciting shoot-out before it segued into another first in All-Star Weekend history, and then petered out into a gadget-filled yet anti-climactic end.
The Saturday events of the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend had all the ingredients that makes the League one of the most watched in the world.
The day started on a bit of an awkward note, as the cold war between former teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook hit another highlight. Westbrook had arrived early and was greeting friends just inside the arena, when KD strolled in, donning an All-Star hoodie. Both barely made eye contact as Durant deliberately side-stepped Russ, completely avoiding him.
But the evening got better from there on. Just as Karl-Anthony Towns did last year, Kristaps Porzingis became the second big man to win the Skills Challenge, when he defeated Gordon Hayward by nailing his first attempt from the 3-point line. Both had been head to head in the Final of the event. Porzingis therefore made history as the tallest man ever, at 7-foot-3, to win the event.
This is more proof that although guard play may rule the league, the emerging ‘new big man’ that can handle the ball and play away from the rim, is the future.
With Porzingis sealing his win with a trey, the fans’ appetite was whetted for the 3-point contest, and the excitement meter went hot from the first round. Defending champion Klay Thompson could not find his range often enough, as Kemba Walker made one more shot to grab a place ahead of the Golden State swingman, and qualify for the Final.
Eric Gordon showed intent when he equalled the 25-point total posted by Craig Hodges (1986) and Eric Kapono (2008) to lead the First Round field. Kyrie Irving with 20 and Kemba Walker with 19, both joined him in the final. Then the fun was magnified.
Gordon and Irving tied for 20 points in the first round, forcing a third round that was last played in the contest way back at the 2000 All-Star Weekend. Irving, aiming to win a second title, was 8-10 from the corner, and ended with 18 points. Then Gordon opened with 2-5, but rattled in 11 of the next 12 shots, to score 21 points and become the first player in Houston Rockets history to win the All-Star shootout.
After this the stars, both old and new, came out to play in street clothes. Following a tribute to TNT broadcaster Carl Sager, Ernie Johnson came back with the Three-Point Finalists, Irving and Gordon pledging $10,000 for each shot they made in a minute. Reggie Miller (formerly of Indiana Pacers), James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Candace Parker (WNBA) and actors Anthony Anderson and Michael B Jordan, all trotted on court in street clothes to join the fun.
The side attraction ended with Shaquille O’Neal hoisting Carl Sager’s youngest son to dunk the final shot, and earn $500,000 for the Sager foundation.
Then came the drone.
The All-Star Slam Dunk contest is now won with creativity, as much as it is won with ferocity. And last season’s runner-up Aaron Gordon tried to up the ante by getting mechanized mobile help. The last player that won with mechanized help used a static one, when Blake Griffin flew over the hood of a parked car to win the 2011 event.
Gordon opted to have a drone drop off the ball for him. However, he could only make the dunk after multiple tries, and that probably took the sting out of it. He scored just 38 points on the Drone-dunk, but the image is forever etched in All-Star Weekend history.
At the end, the Slam Dunk event was won with old-fashioned creative athleticism. Indiana Pacers’ Glen Robinson III lined up teammate Paul George, the Pacers mascot and a Pacers cheerleader, with George holding the ball. He elevated over all three, grabbed the ball off George and threw down a reverse dunk.
Bring on the All-Star Game.
By Akinbode Oguntuyi
