On Sunday night, 24 of the best basketball players in the world put on a show in the 67th NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
For the first time in NBA history, the format of Eastern Conference against Western Conference was scrapped. This time, the top vote-getters, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry drafted a team from the group of selected all-stars. After a 192-182 affair, a year ago the NBPA led by Chris Paul, met with Adam Silver and Michael Jordan to try and make the game competitive again. The result was far from playoff intensity, but lacked the sloppiness that the last few all-star games had.
Here are my takeaways from the NBA’s showcase of its greatest stars.
Charity
The winning team earned a donation of $350,000 to their charity of their captain’s choice. The losing team now earns $150,000 to their charity of their captain’s choice. Both captains chose local charities helping youth. LeBron James, as the winning captain, chose After School All-Stars Los Angeles, a provider of year-round comprehensive school programs. Stephen Curry lost, but his consolation was a donation to Brotherhood Crusade, a non-profit grassroots organization improving the needs of low-income people from undeserved communities.
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Fashion winners
The all-star weekend is about high-end fashion and 2018 didn’t disappoint.
Both of the Toronto Raptors in attendance, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis led the sartorial way.
The overall theme was black accents, form fitting, layering and great shoes. Here are the best looks from the all-star competitors.
Fashion losers
NBA players are known to push the envelope with fashion and at times you can go too far. The main takeaway from the outfits that missed the mark were too casual for the event, sloppy fitting and lack of colour coordination. My apologies in advance to Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Here’s a selection of players whose personal stylist led them astray.
DAME TIME. #NBAAllStar #KGArea21 @Dame_Lillard pic.twitter.com/CitMgjIyZC
— KG's Area 21 (@KGArea21) February 18, 2018
Best shoes
The all-star game is also the platform to showcase the best sneakers in the game. Each player had a specific rendition of their own signature shoe or a player exclusive. Here are the top five shoes worn on Saturday night modelled by the players themselves.
1. Under Armour Curry 4 Valentine’s Day colourway (Stephen Curry)
#NBAAllStar captain #StephenCurry stops by the #NBAKicks stage! pic.twitter.com/3HIb5h7f6T
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2018
2. Adidas Harden Vol. 2 Vision colourway (James Harden)
#JamesHarden bringing the to the #NBAKicks stage for #NBAAllStar! pic.twitter.com/tYk2tFe3Hf
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2018
3. Nike PG2 ASW Palmdale colourway (Paul George)
4. Jordan Why Not Zer0.1 (Russell Westbrook)
5. Nike Kyrie 4 All-Star Venice Beach colourway (Kyrie Irving)
The best shoes were the ones LeBron James wore to the game. King James used the canvas of white Air Force’s to make a political statement about the fact he will continue to make political statements despite Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham telling James to “shut up and dribble” after he was critical of Donald Trump in a recent Uninterrupted feature.
Don’t come at LeBron. He always has the perfect punch back. His pregame shoes tonight. (by @NBAAllStar) pic.twitter.com/9UghLpT4NX
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 18, 2018
KD and Russ beef is over
I don’t know if they are friends, but they didn’t look like bitter enemies. Part of the drama around selecting NBA all-star was how would feeding players interacting when chosen to be on the same team. Not only did the two happily co-exist, they started together and combined multiple times for baskets. A far departure from a year ago when during the all-star weekend they didn’t speak to each other or about each other and Westbrook even chose to warm up on the opposite hoop.
The other potential beef, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, was also watched closely, but both guys were laughing together on the bench and there was no hint of an iciness after Irving left the Cleveland Cavaliers and went to the Boston Celtics.
Kevin Hart roasts
Not only were the festivities started with a 20-plus-minute hip-hop musical starring Kevin Hart, Rob Riggle, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, Queen Latifah and Adam Devine, but Kevin Hart introduced the players. He took that opportunity to roast them. The NBA is the only league that would turn the announcement of players in to a content capture moment. The league understands entertainment and the comedy of Hart set the tone for a lighthearted night.
Fergie’s anthem rendition
Barenaked Ladies played it safe with the Canadian national anthem. Fergie of Black Eyed Peas’ fame took some liberties with the Star-Spangled Banner and it caused for some interesting reactions in the arena and online.
Davis wearing Cousins’s uniform
Anthony Davis started the game wearing the jersey of his fellow New Orleans Pelicans big man and Kentucky Wildcats alum DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins missed the contest as he tore his Achilles after being named a starter.
Relatively intense defending
The vast difference in the game from previous incarnations was the defensive intensity.
Team LeBron was over the foul limit with 4:14 left in the first quarter. The squads combined for six steals and six blocks halfway through the first quarter.
Dwane Casey called a timeout in the second quarter after back-to-back Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry transitions three pointers. Team LeBron responded and forced two turnovers in the last 10 seconds of the first half instituting a full-court trap.
At the half, there were more free-throw attempts taken than you had in the entire game last year. Late in the game, Mike D’Antoni used defence for offence substitutions, bringing in Kyle Lowry and Draymond Green for Team Stephen in the last minute of the game.
The game was so intense we even had a delay of game call and a video replay review. How often does a defensive stop win an all-star game? It happened Sunday with LeBron James and Kevin Durant switching to harass Stephen Curry and then DeMar DeRozan as the clock expired.
Who said there's no defense in the #NBAAllStar Game? pic.twitter.com/ArsOSwLqE9
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 19, 2018
#TeamLeBron with the clutch defense to win the #NBAAllStar Game!!!
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 19, 2018
LeBron is the ASG GOAT
I’m not sure any player is more suited to the high-flying, up-and-down pace of an all-star game than King James himself.
LeBron won his third MVP with 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and the game-winning basket and was a force at both rims.
His longevity without losing any athleticism is amazing. This makes it 14 consecutive all-star games starts for LeBron. He’s shy of Kobe Bryant’s record of 15, which he most likely will get next year in Charlotte.
In 2005, LeBron was an all-star and the only players still in the league from that team are Dwyane Wade and Vince Carter. LeBron is still the best player in the game and those guys aren’t close to that level anymore. Random names of players on that 2005 team include Gilbert Arenas, Jermaine O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace and Antawn Jameson.
Top Performers
Team LeBron:
LeBron James – 29 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists
Kevin Durant – 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Paul George – 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Team Stephen:
DeMar DeRozan – 21 points, 6 rebounds
Damian Lillard – 21 points
Joel Embiid – 19 points, 8 rebounds
No Butler
Tom Thibodeau is playing Jimmy Butler 37.3 minutes per game, which leads the NBA. That might be why we surprisingly didn’t see Jimmy Butler play one minute. Not often you get a DNP-CD in the all-star game.