NBA All-Star

Who stood out, for better or worse, in Salt Lake City? We break down Jayson Tatum's MVP, Mac McClung's win, and more from the star-studded festivities.

Maybe it was gamesmanship, maybe it was a favor to the NBA (after all, half the event was known as Team Giannis). If the pass is imprecise, the timing is off, or the dunk is missed, the element of surprise is gone and Murphy gets eliminated. The Elam Ending was praised as a savior concept for the All-Star Game itself, but watching the first three quarters was like getting a basketball lobotomy. [repeatedly and soundly dismissed the notion this weekend](https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/nba/grizzlies/2023/02/19/ja-morant-dunk-contest-nba-all-star-game/69921796007/). Mann: It could just be me—I’ve seen a bunch of these—but it definitely feels like All-Star Weekend is teetering on the edge of a cliff before this event enters a real era of free fall. Look, is it weird for a G League player to win the Dunk Contest? Kyle Mann:](https://www.theringer.com/authors/j-kyle-mann) The distance between his status among all the greatest basketball players in the world and his level of giving a shit this weekend is immeasurable. But when you consider that 99 percent of people in attendance didn’t know who he was entering the weekend, you’ve got to give it up to McClung for making sure everyone remembers his name. Early on and throughout long stretches of the game, several stars jostled for the trophy, but Tatum eventually separated himself from a pack that was highlighted by Donovan Mitchell (in what would’ve been a very sweet homecoming), Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, and Jaylen Brown, who engaged his Celtics teammate in several friendly but spirited one-on-one clashes in the middle of the game. When turnovers, errant shots, and wasted possessions don’t translate to regular-season losses, the court becomes a playground for them to freestyle and test the limits of their ability. Sohi: For the second year in a row, LeBron and Giannis, the respective captains of the Western and Eastern Conference teams, chose their players in a pickup-style draft. Was it Mac McClung emerging from anonymity to win the Dunk Contest?

While not much defense was played, Jayson Tatum still put on an offensive performance for the ages, en route to an All-Star Game scoring record.

[2023 NBA Buyout Market Tracker: Where will Wall, Westbrook land?](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/nba-buyout-tracker-where-will-john-wall-russell-westbrook-land) [‘Weve got work to do’: Kevin Durant ready to roll with Suns](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/weve-got-work-to-do-kevin-durant-ready-to-roll-with-suns) [The NBA's sneakiest skill? [Lakers](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers-team) will be scraping to make the play-in tournament. [Bucks](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks-team)' 112-100 win over Chicago on Feb. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. He added 10 rebounds and six assists for Team Giannis, setting a new All-Star scoring record by surpassing [Anthony Davis'](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/anthony-davis-player) 52 points in 2017. It's just not part of my DNA." "At the end of the day, obviously, you want to participate, you want to run up and down, joke around, have some dunks, create some work," said Antetokounmpo, who had two points in 20 seconds. "My first All-Star Game was in Chicago in 2020 when they renamed the MVP after him. I'll be fine. "But I'll be fine. "I thought that I was last, and I just stood up because I didn't see Lauri," said Jokić, who finished with four points and five rebounds in 20 minutes. I liked the format on TV.

The NBA All-Star game had an Afrobeats-themed halftime show with Nigerian artists Burna Boy, Tems and Rema. Watch their performances here.

[during Super Bowl halftime show](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/12/rihanna-expecting-second-child-pregnancy-announcement-super-bowl-halftime-show/11245955002/) Rema came in next to deliver "Calm Down" and "Holiday." [during the Super Bowl halftime show](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/13/asap-rocky-cheers-pregnant-rihanna-super-bowl-halftime-celebrities-react/11245336002/) [Jewel](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/15/jewel-talks-masked-singer-win-new-album-freewheelin-woman/7310373001/), a Utah native, performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the game; [Post Malone](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/02/15/jewel-post-malone-vin-diesel-to-perform-at-all-star-game/51290337/) did a medley of "Wow" and "Rockstar" after LeBron James and Antetokounmpo drafted their teams; and Jully Black sang the Canadian national anthem before the game. [Rihanna](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/02/15/rihanna-british-vogue-baby-asap-rocky-new-music/11263923002/) set a high bar for halftime performances at the [Super Bowl ](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/12/rihanna-expecting-second-child-pregnancy-announcement-super-bowl-halftime-show/11245955002/)last weekend, and [Burna Boy](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/05/grammy-2023-full-winners-list/11191068002/), [Tems](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/28/rihanna-releases-new-music-for-black-panther-lift-me-up/10616226002/) and [Rema ](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/12/23/barack-obama-2022-favorites-books-movies-songs/10948842002/)were able to keep the bar elevated at [NBA All-Star Weekend](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/02/15/2023-nba-all-star-game-players-teams-scoring-format-how-watch/11265847002/) in Salt Lake City Sunday night. [Burna Boy](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/08/13/beyonce-black-is-king-burna-boy-davido-african-artists-listen/3343901001/), Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated singer [Tems](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/28/rihanna-releases-new-music-for-black-panther-lift-me-up/10616226002/) and rapper Rema — doing an Afrobeats-themed performance.

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone had a front-row seat at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game and he was not impressed with the players' effort.

"There was no effort whatsoever," Smith said. In recent years, the league Malone coached Team LeBron in the game. "… NBA viewing future, more](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/02/20/nba-all-star-weekend-game-takeaways/11305187002/) [scored 55 points to break the All-Star game scoring record](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/02/19/tatum-scores-all-star-record-55-team-giannis-wins-184-175/69923347007/).

The league may have to do something drastic to the NBA All-Star game to incentivize players to try their best once more.

Is it not incredible that teams have already played around 75 percent of their games before the NBA decides to take a break for their All-Star weekend? How else could the league give players a big enough incentive to fall head over heels for without actively affecting the postseason? Here are three steps the NBA could take to fix the All-Star game. Players could still end up just mailing it in, allowing others to score just to get the festivities over with. Watching players with nothing to play for, who wouldn’t dare do anything that would endanger their physical capabilities of suiting up for the postseason, simply do not make for a riveting viewing experience. Despite the presence of charities that would stand to benefit from quarterly wins from Team LeBron or Team Giannis, and the continued use of the Elam Ending, barely anybody played even a single shred of defense.

NBA All-Star Weekend is complete, and with it comes the playoff race and some takeaways from weekend including dunk contest and competitive landscape.

Cleveland All-Star Donovan Mitchell said the Cavs are part of the group, but they might be a year away from true contention, But how many teams have a legitimate chance to win the championship? After watching clips of NBA and college football games in a brief demo, it is an amazing viewing experience. It’s competitive in the NBA this season. Cosm calls it shared reality because the idea is to watch with friends and other sports fans in a theater-style venue where you can also purchase food and drinks. Cosm announced a partnership with the NBA on Thursday and plans to open its first venue in Los Angeles near SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome in the spring of 2024, followed by another venue in Dallas. Discovery Sports expires after the 2024-25 season, and the league will seek a lucrative deal, impacting players’ salaries and the value of franchises. At least 12 teams in the East are competing for a spot in the playoffs. “I think that it would be an awkward position to say to a player: You must enter the Dunk Contest. Can McClung jump-start the event so that it regains its status as a must-see Saturday night event during All-Star Weekend, and will he return for next year’s event? “I think that’s a reflection of the incredible quality of play we have in this league.” Golden State might be in the final days of its dynasty and LeBron James could miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season – something he hasn’t done since his first two seasons in the league two decades ago.

The Nuggets coach didn't mince words after the non-competitive ASG, adding 'I don't know how you fix it'

These are the elite of the elite, and they're simply not going to risk their health for a game that ultimately has no bearing on standings. In the process, he caught his hand on the rim and was ruled out for the second half due to the injury. More captains, pick teams of five, have a round robin tournament with games to 21. We really don't need a traditional All-Star Game if this is gonna be the product. Joel was imploring some of the guys to play harder, to try to get some defense in. It's an honor to be a part of a great weekend, great players.

The NBA All-Star Game, for all its fanfare and pageantry, was a letdown with no defense or intensity leading to uncontested dunks and long-range shots.

Nikola Jokic, the front-runner for most valuable player — which would be his third in a row — admitted that he had no place out on the court. You do float that line of, for a guy like me that likes to play on the defensive side, when is it, at what point, do you turn the defense up?” The game itself doesn’t need to be good — the moments are what most people remember anyway. It was just a glorified layup line,” Brown said. One agent suggested that maybe if players had more time off before and after the game the product would look better. “This was like a layup line. On Saturday during media day when players get asked goofy questions, one reporter asked players like Jokic what it would look like if they disguised themselves and played a high school game today. “I liked the last format. It’s always great to have an opportunity to try new formats, new ways to spice up the game, spice up the viewership and things of that nature.” I liked the format on TV. “That was just highlights and layups and jump shots. I think it was a little bit — it looked fun, more fun, cooler, whatever the case may be.

Tatum lifted the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season for the first time since 2010, but they lost to the Golden State Warriors.

“His IQ for the game, his enthusiasm for the game, I think that goes underrated,” Durant said. “It’s going to be incredible,” Durant said of the Doncic-Irving partnership. You want to be playing your best basketball, individually and as a group, so that’s what we’re trying to do.” “We like it,” Jokic said. “We’ve got to have one common goal and that’s to win a championship. “We don’t need (attention).

The recent NBA All-Star game has come in for some criticism, with Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone certainly not mincing his words regarding the ...

Smith stated that he'd like to see the players put in as much effort in the All-Star game as they do behind closed doors. What I am trying to say is that we do not need to see a basketball game taking place where you play harder in summer competition when you are working out than at an All-Star game. "If you can go and play harder in the summer when they work out, then you should be able to play that hard in the All-Star game. In that era players would see the leagues best players go at each other in an high intensity game. Joel was imploring some of the guys to play harder, to try to get some defense in. It's an honour to be a part of a great weekend, great players.

Nikola Jokić shared the love on his 28th birthday, but unfortunately, the Nuggets center and head coach Michael Malone were on the losing end of th...

Jokić would assist Embiid on three buckets, including an impressive center-to-center alley-oop, and a top-of-the-key kick out to for a downtown swish from the Sixers’ star. That’s the magic of the NBA All-Star game, especially with the conference element now being removed. Thanks to this year’s All-Star game, those same fans got a rare opportunity to see the two men start together. The Serbian also made a bit of history as he was the first NBA player to start an All-Star game on his birthday. The Serbian would continue to put on a passing clinic throughout the game, with no shortage of smooth, silky dimes through the first three quarters. There has been plenty of debate among NBA fans on who the best center in the league is, even if Jokić’s two MVP awards would suggest a clear-cut answer.