He NBA All Star weekend It began last Friday the 17th and so far it has been a complete success in terms of numbers, ratings on TV and interactions on social networks. A lot has to do with the fact that the protagonists put on a real show and following the days of Friday and Saturday, it is clear that it is one of the best editions in recent years.
After two very atypical editions due to the Covid-19 restrictions, this time the All-Star Game weekend was once once more a success and this Sunday night’s main course has not yet arrived. Starting at 9:30 p.m., Team LeBron will clash once morest Team Giannis in the main event of the entire weekend.
It is worth mentioning that although the captains, starters and substitutes have already been confirmed, it has not yet been decided how the teams will be made up. The selection of the players that will be part of each team will take place just 30 minutes before the event begins, something unprecedented that had not been done so far in the mythical All Star.
But before concentrating on the main event, during the day last Saturday three tests were developed that are part of the great weekend.
Skills Contest
First was the skills challenge, where three teams made up of three players each had to go through four different tests that required skills related to basketball.
The teams were “Utah Jazz”, “Rockies” and the “Antetokounmpo Brothers”being the first winners of three of the four tests and winners of the skills tournament.
Walker Kessler, Jordan Clarkson and Colin Sexton participated in the local team, in the rookies team there were Jabari Smith Jr, Paolo Banchero and Jaden Ivey, while finally the last one was made up of Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo, plus jrue Holiday who replaced Giannis for his wrist injury.
Here the main moments of the test:
Triple Contest
For many years the main course of the second night of the weekend, but in this edition, it did not manage to get all the flashes, although it was entertaining. This year’s participants were Lauri Markkanen (Jazz), Jason Tatum (Celtics), Julius Randle (Knicks), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), Buddy Hield (Pacers), Tyler Herro (Heat), Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) y Kevin Huerter (Kings).
With a round of five baskets with five balls each, plus two special shots from a few meters behind the triple line worth 3 pts, the eight participants made their first attempt and the three who made it to the second round were Duddy. Hield, Tyrese Haliburton and the experienced, Damian Lillard.
The Blazers player was the favorite to win the title and did not disappoint his fans. With a total of 26 which he converted thanks to the last three shots in a row, he was able to surpass the mark of 25 that Hield had made a few minutes before and then Haliburton failed to score more than that amount, for which Lillard became the winner of the triple contest for the first time in his career.
Here is the summary of the contest:
dunk contest
Closing the day last Saturday, the “mates” tournament was held, as they know it in Spain and unlike other years, this time there was a very good level, with a lot of athleticism and creativity on the track.
participated Trey Murphi III (Pelicans), Kenyon Martin Jr (Rockets), Jericho Sims (Knicks) y Mac McClung (Philadelphia), where each player had the opportunity to make two dunks and following adding the score, the two with the highest went on to the second round where they went head-to-head with another two dunks each.
With a total of 46.6 and 49.4, Trey Murphi III was the first to get into the second half and then Mac McClung with 50 and 49.8. In the defining stage, the Pelicans power forward scored 48.8 in his first attempt and 49.2 in the second, which was not enough to overcome McClung, who put together another two perfect 50s and thus became champion by first time in his short career.
Here are the best dunks of the night: