Written by: Jacob Nevis
The first weekend without any football is hard for most sports fans. Usually, the Daytona 500 falls on the weekend following the Super Bowl, but it was postponed to Monday due to severe weather conditions. Luckily, the NBA All-Star Weekend was able to excite sports fans in different ways.
Filled with different types of events that might allow certain stars to shine brighter than others, the NBA All-Star Weekend was hosted in Indianapolis by the Indiana Pacers. The first event held, which is known as the skills challenge, saw three teams competing in a competition to test ball handling, passing and shooting ability. One of the three teams that participated were team All Stars, which consisted of Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors.
The second team was composed of former first round picks in the NBA draft: Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and, lastly, Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic. The final team that participated in the skills challenge was the team that would win the challenge, and that was the stars from the hometown team, Indiana Pacers, with Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin.
The second event was the three point contest. The participants for this event were Haliburton, Young, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Damien Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz and Malik Beasley, also of the Bucks.
Lillard, who has been struggling this season shooting beyond the arc and is near his lowest three point percentage in a season in his career, was able to capture his second career three point contest win.
The NBA this season showcased an event that has never been done before. Stephen Curry took on WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu in a three point contest. Ionescu had previously broken the record for most threes made in a contest, mens or womens, at the WNBA three point contest last summer. Curry, arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history, had previously been challenged by Ionescu on X, formerly Twitter, and Curry accepted the challenge. Both shooters shot from the NBA regulated three point line. While Ionescu was nothing short of exciting, Curry was able to defeat her with a score of 29 points to 26.
The dunk contest saw four players go head to head to see who could pull off the best dunks. The four participants were Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, Jacob Toppin of the Knicks, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and Mac McClung of the Osceola Magic, the G League affiliate of the Orlando Magic. McClung was able to capture his second straight dunk contest victory.
The final event was the actual all-star game. The East defeated the West 211 to 186, and Lillard was voted the All-Star Game MVP. With the conclusion of All-Star weekend, the NBA will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 22.
