The NBA All-Star Saturday night recap was great. There were a lot of good things that make this the best All-Star activity event in professional sports. Also, there were a lot of low points. Check out my article here on our site about my wishes for the Dunk contest. The other events earlier really have “made the night.” The crowd in Indianapolis was really live to represent their city during the night. Let’s look at the recap points.
All-Star Recap point # 5 — Sabrina vs. Stephen was great.
The Sabrina Ionescu vs. Stephen Curry three point matchup was very cool. She was knocking down shots after she warmed up and WAS shooting the ball from the NBA three point line. TNT announcer Kenny Smith was criticizing the fact that she was shooting a lighter ball from deep which made it more forceful than Stephen Curry.
She made 24 which set the bar for Steph Curry to show out. Curry did and made 27 so the two players didn’t disappoint. Next year it should be another NBA shooter vs. a WNBA shooter and so on. The first NBA player to lose will be lambasted but it gives the event “a storyline.”
All-Star Recap point #4 — The First round Skills players were terrible.
Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards and Paolo Banchero were really “going through the motions” during the skill competition. Check out this article recap here on ESPN.com where they say the same. During the moving targets, they were chucking the ball at the circle without any effort, moving sluggish around one another and posted low scores. Then in the shootout around the three point line, Wembanyama looked unsure to get the rebound and none of the other players helped, standing outside. I felt like a recreation counselor and just felt like telling them to sit against the wall to let other kids try.
All-Star Recap point #3 — TNT needs to change their team for the event.
Reggie Miller tries very hard to sound charismatic and energetic but he sounds like a fan at a game who tries to coach from the stands. You get annoyed at them after awhile and wish they’d be quiet. The All-Star event needs to have a voice that narrates the event instead of three guys talking over one another. That voice needs to set the pulse of the telecast by his observations, wordsmithing and knowing when to say a lot and then say nothing.
All-Star Recap point #2 — The dunk contest was boring.
Matt McClung won the event hands down. He jumped over Shaq (who was leaning forward) and his two friends and cleared their heads. Jaylen Brown‘s dunk over the Kevin Hart look-a-like was at the restricted area (Boring!) In my opinion, the dunks need to follow an X-games style rule judging. Look at this article here from redbull.com on how a slopestyle event is judged. Every single dunk attempted looks like it is thought of in the moment. The dunks should be graded on speed, height, force, artistry and grace. Show me some 360 turns, maybe 480s or more but stop, please stop, with the props and jersey changes.
All-Star Recap point #1 — The Three point contest should close out the night.
Kenny Smith was saying that the Dunk contest is the best event of the night. Reggie Miller was saying that it was the three point contest. Honestly, the three point contest has ruled Saturday night for more than 10 years. Stephen Curry set the record with 31 points in a round one year. Karl Anthony Towns won the three point contest also. All the players who compete do very well and the crowd responds during the event. Since the league is now a three point shooting league, they should switch the dunk event and the three point event in the order.
