BallnRoll Recap of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend
NBA All-Star weekend has come and gone and the general consensus seems to be another year of the status quo; mediocrity and disappointment. Now don’t get me wrong, there were some great moments throughout the weekend, but for an event that gets so much hype and excitement built around it, lately it always seems to underwhelm.
Here are my main takeaways from the weekend.
The NBA 3-Point Shootout was the highlight of the weekend!
Wow! Where to start? First, I absolutely loved the legends participating before the actual players. Seeing all-time shooting greats like Dell Curry, Mark Price, Glen Rice and Ray Allen shoot a rack of threes for charity was brilliant.
Then came the action! As the worthy favourite heading into the competition, everyone expected Steph Curry to put on a show, but how about Buddy Hield going off for 26 and Danny Green and Devin Booker scoring 23 and not even advancing to the next round!
But the star of the evening was the one and only “Beef Jerky Joe” / “Joey Hoops”: Joe Harris! The man who has gone from bouncing around the D-League and riding the bench for the first four season’s of his NBA career to suddenly becoming one of the best shooters in the league! What a display, 25 in the first round and 26 in the second to just barely edge Steph Curry. Like David vs Goliath, “Beef Jerky Joe” beat arguably the best shooter of all-time.
What a spectacle!
Joe Harris goes perfect on his money ball rack and wins the #MtnDew3PT contest with a final round score of 26! #NBAAllStar #WeGoHard #StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/xw7WABBHeW
— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2019
The Dunk Contest has hit an all-time low
When an anonymous player (even to die-hard NBA fans) like Hamidou Diallo wins what is supposed to be the marquee event of All-Star weekend, then you know you are in trouble. Heck, if it weren’t for Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr getting injured, Diallo wouldn’t even be in the dunk contest! Look, I’ll give the kid some credit, the dunk over Shaq was nice, but the overall ineptitude of the dunk contest definitely overshadowed his win.
DIALLO REALLY DID THE VINCE ELBOW DUNK OVER SHAQ pic.twitter.com/NmH9vUWyFI
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 17, 2019
The NBA needs figure out a way to get the best actual dunkers and stars in the contest. It’s no coincidence that some of the most iconic dunk’s of all-time have come from superstars like Michael Jordan, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
Second, can we get some competent judging for once? A score of 50 means a perfect dunk! It means a dunk that is so spectacular that it gets everyone in the building hyped and off of their feet. 50’s are not meant to be given to ordinary, unremarkable dunks.
And finally, something needs to change immediately with regards to the dunk attempt rule. Miles Bridges was the most exciting dunker in the contest, and because he couldn’t capitalize on, what would have been, a spectacular dunk, he was de-facto knocked out of the competition. Likewise, in the finals Dennis Smith was too ambitious and ultimately failed on his first dunk, which resulted in an extremely anticlimactic final showdown. I could go on, but you get the point. The dunk contest has hit rock bottom.
Anthony Hamilton restored the NBA All-Star Game’s National Anthem reputability
.@HamiltonAnthony sings the U.S. National Anthem ahead of the #NBAAllStar game!
Watch on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/UrFCx7GIMF
— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 18, 2019
….Remember this disaster last year?
1 year ago today, Fergie singing the National Anthem at the 2018 NBA All-Star game and the priceless reactions from Draymond Green, the players and a few celebs. pic.twitter.com/zcwxGTSha1
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 18, 2019
The honorary All-Star idea was a nice touch.
Nice to see Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade, two future hall-of-famers, out there for a final time.
27 #NBAAllStar Games combined!#DirkNowitzki #DwyaneWade pic.twitter.com/kQrPq6zDa0
— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2019
The actual All-Star game was okay?
Like usual, it wasn’t all that competitive and if you’re into defense, you were probably miserable while watching it, but Team LeBron did pull off a pretty big comeback and there were some exciting moments.
Like Giannis’ incredible dunk:
#StephCurry to #Giannis …as heard around the world! pic.twitter.com/GztJb7Vf0l
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2019
A record 62 combined made threes:
The BEST of #NBAAllStar record 62 combined made threes from #TeamGiannis and #TeamLeBron! pic.twitter.com/hov70r4ccR
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2019
J Cole’s halftime performance:
⭐️ @JColeNC performs at halftime of the 2019 #NBAAllStar Game in Charlotte! ⭐️ https://t.co/XuGGBA5k8Q
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2019
and my personal favourite, the Joker being the Joker:
This is why Jokic is ‘The Joker’. ? pic.twitter.com/3DZ9AQ27FL
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) February 18, 2019
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