Every year, the NBA All-Star Weekend is an exciting three days of events. They always find a way to match the young stars with the old stars, and the celebrities also make it a fun weekend for basketball fans around the world.

This year, the events were held in Utah which had jerseys modeled after the Utah Jazz’s 1990s uniforms. 

The events kicked off on Friday night with the Celebrity Game. The two teams were coached by 13-time All-Star and Utah Jazz minority owner Dwayne Wade as well as Jazz governor Ryan Smith. 

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf stole the show, scoring 20 points and adding 10 rebounds and 4 blocks to his stat line. This won him the game MVP trophy as he led Team Wade to an 81-78 victory.

The next event was the NBA’s Rising Stars game. This game always holds the NBA’s best young talent and this year was no different. The player pool was separated into teams each led by former NBA All-Stars.

 There was Team Pau which was led by 6-time All-Star and 2-time NBA champion Pau Gasol. Team Joakim was led by 2 time All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah. Lastly, there was Team Deron which was led by 3-time All-Star Deron Wiliams.

Another team was added to showcase the NBA’s G-League players which was led by former NBA sharpshooter Jason Terry.

The teams competed in a three-game tournament with the first two games going up to 40 and the championship to 25. The first game saw Team Pau play Team Deron. This resulted in a 40 to 25 win for team Pau behind a hefty 13-point performance by New Orleans Pelicans Pelicans Second Year Guard Jose Alvarado. 

The second game showcased the two remaining teams, Team Joakim and Team Jason. Team Joakim was able to get the 40 to 32 win which was led by 13 points from New York Knicks Guard Quentin Grimes.

This pitted Team Pau and Team Joakim against each other which was primed to be a competitive game. Team Pau pulled off the win 25 to 20 in entertaining fashion as Jose Alvarado made a game-winning shot, earning himself MVP of the Rising Stars Tournament.

The next day of the weekend is the less game-oriented day of the weekend but it always proves to be the fan favorite.

The first event on Saturday was the NBA Skills Challenge. This contest had three players from three selected teams go through a basketball obstacle course. This event was won by Utah Jazz rookie Walker Kessler. Teammates Colin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, a former Sixth Man of the Year were also participants.

The next event of the night was the Three-Point Contest. Fans were treated to a star-studded lineup of participants including All-Stars Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Lauri Markkanen, Julius Randle, and Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton stunned the rest of the competition in the first round, earning a score of 31 on his attempts. 

The final round put Lillard and Haliburton against each other and prolific shooter Buddy Hield. Ultimately, Lillard was able to win the contest over Hield and Haliburton by one point.

The final event of the night was the Dunk Contest. Over the past few years, this event has become a disappointment as it has fallen from its days of glory in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

However, this year’s contest did not disappoint. Mac McClung brought the house down with a 720 dunk from the baseline. This particular dunk had the internet raving throughout the night.

Simply put by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, “He (McClung) saved the dunk contest.”

The final event of the weekend was the NBA All-Star Game. This game took a new format this year as the two captains, Los Angeles Lakers Forward Lebron James and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo selected their teams minutes before the game. 

Once the game commenced, it went as expected which raised concern about the effort given in the All-Star game. A few stars took advantage of the lack of effort given on the defensive side of the ball.

Boston Celtics Forward Jayson Tatum had a scoring outburst, notching 55 points and setting a new All-Star Game record for points. Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers also had a night, scoring 40 points to propel Team Giannis to a win.

TOP ALL-STAR SCORING PERFORMANCES

According to BasketballReference.com

• Jayson Tatum- 55 (2023)

• Anthony Davis- 52 (2017)

• Stephen Curry- 50 (2022)

• Wilt Chamberlain- 42 (1962)

• Russel Westbrook- 41 (2017)

5. Russel Westbrook- 41(2015)
6. Paul George- 41 (2016)
7. Michael Jordan- 40 (1988)