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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

2016 All Star Weekend a Big Success

This year's All-Star weekend in the NBA was a big success, as it added a little twist to the usual activities. It began with the Rising Stars game, where there were two teams that faced off. Since it was held in Toronto, Canada, one team was made up of very good young players from the USA, while the other team was made up by good young players from around the world. This was a VERY high scoring game, but everyone knows that nobody plays defense during All-Star weekend anyways. According to ESPN, the United States team defeated the World team 157-154, with some certain players standing above the others. Zach LaVine would take home the MVP honors, after scoring an impressive 30 points and getting seven rebounds. He wasn't the only one to drop 30 points, as Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay did it as well. Mudiay even had 10 assists in the game. The next night was even more exciting, as it began with the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. There ere four guards that competed, and four big men as well. Surprisingly, a big man won it, Karl Anthony-Towns for the Minnesota Timberwolves, beating out Isaiah Thomas from the Boston Celtics. Next up was the 3-point contest, featuring a number of fantastic shooters. They were: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, James Harden, J.J Redick, Devin Booker, Kyle Lowry, C.J McCollum, and Khris Middleton. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson easily made it into the finals, but the most impressive feat was the 19 year old Devin Booker making the final round. In the end, Thompson would bring home the hardware in an impressive 27 point final round performance. Finally, the most exciting thing that happened this weekend was the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest, featuring four players, Will Barton from the Denver Nuggets, Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons, Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic, and defending champion Zach LaVine from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The two dunkers that would make it to the final round consisted of Gordon and LaVine, but what happened next is close to being possibly the greatest slam dunk contest of all time. In my opinion, Aaron Gordon should have won, as he made one of the greatest dunks of all time, when he jumped OVER a mascot ON A HOVERBOARD, and put the ball underneath his legs on his way to a superstar slam. 
Source
Even though Gordon did that, LaVine did go between his legs from just in front of the foul line. LaVine would take home the trophy, although many think that Gordon was robbed. Finally, on Sunday night, the All-Star game was played, and there were some superstars in that game as well. For starters, this was the last All-Star game that Kobe Bryant would be a part of, as the Black Mamba no longer has venom in his fangs. He will retire after this season, leaving a legendary career behind him. This being said, Russell Westbrook took the MVP award in a 196-173 victory for the Western All-Stars. This was a very successful weekend for the NBA, and I can't wait for next year's.


-Blake Holmes

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