All-Star Weekend was one for the books. They changed the format for the all star game and although when I first read it I thought, “man what is Adam Silver (the commissioner of the NBA) thinking?”, but to be honest, it was one of the best all star games of all time. What I loved the most about the all star game is that although it was very competitive between the best players in the world, the league decided to honor Kobe and Gigi by having Team LeBron wear number 2 for Gigi and Team Giannis wear number 24 for Kobe. Also, they had Common perform a little tribute for Kobe, and it was spectacular. Adam Silver, along with the rest of the Board, changed the name of the award the MVP of the all star game receives, from the NBA All-Star MVP Award to the NBA All-Star game Kobe Bryant Award, and that was a beautiful gesture from the NBA to the Bryant family. Kawhi Leonard is the first to win the first Kobe Bryant Award Adam Silver announced that the money made from the auctioning of the game worn jerseys will be donated to the Mamba on Three Fund and the Mamba Camp; Mambacita Sports Foundation.
The rest of All Star Weekend was very good, as we had two Heat players win an event (Derrick Jones Jr. came out on top in the Dunk Contest and Bam Adebayo in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge.) Duncan Robinson was eliminated in the first round of the three point contest, and although it would have been spectacular to have 3 Heat players win all of the events on Saturday, I understand because it was his first time and he may have been nervous being on a big stage like that.
There was some controversy regarding the dunk contest, as people believed Aaron Gordon should have gotten a perfect score for his final dunk, which was him jumping over Tacko Fall, a 7’6″ center for the Boston Celtics and the tallest person in the NBA right now. People also argued that Derrick Jones Jr. did not have as much variety in his dunks, as the majority of his dunks were east bays (between the legs) and just changed some of them by adding passes off of the backboard, jumping over his teammate Bam Adebayo, and also doing a windmill from one step in the free throw line. I actually cannot believe people genuinely think Aaron Gordon should have won. This is preposterous. I don’t think people comprehend the fact that Derrick Jones Jr. is a lefty, therefore automatically giving him an upper hand. People think he won because Dwayne Wade was one of the judges and thought there was a bias since he would have voted more leniently for the Heat player since Wade is a Miami Heat legend.
Well although these events were very cool, the USA vs World game was the first all star weekend event, which occurred on Friday night. Absolute units like Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Sviatolslav Mykhailiuk when head-to-head, and the USA team ended up winning 151-131. Miles Bridges (a fellow lefty) ended up winning the MVP award for his incredible performance, getting 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk dropped a cool 5 points, with a thunderous put-back dunk, R.J. Barrett led all scorers with 27 points, and the #1 pick Zion Williamson got himself 14 points, while shooting 63% from the field, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. This game full of incredible young studs is to prove that leftys are the future of the NBA, and watch. I say in about 5-7 years, Zion will be in the G.O.A.T conversation. Mark my words.
Well this is all for you leftys, I will catch you next time. Dale yo.
D1 Sports Analyst 