SALT LAKE CITY — We were on our way to celebrating Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James as the biggest winner of the NBA’s All-Star Game until it was announced he wouldn’t be playing in the second half.
The 38-year-old skipped the chaos of media availability on All-Star Saturday, opting instead to spend a few vacation days with his wife and then held a press conference alone ahead of Sunday’s game. If he aimed to minimize his availability and maximize his visibility, he had executed his plan perfectly.
James was personable during the pre-game draft, Jay-Z recorded a lengthy introduction to Sunday’s show devoted entirely to The King, and during two quarters of his record-breaking 19th All-Star Game appearance, James had 13 points and positioned for a run at his third MVP award. Friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade praised James in a halftime ceremony, honoring him as the league’s all-time leading scorer. The All-Star Game might as well have been the LeBron James Invitational at this point.
Then, just before the start of the third quarter, the NBA announced that James would not be returning after sustaining a first-half bruise when his fingers caught on the rim while trying to chase a block.
“I’m fine,” James said in his post-game press conference, already showered and ready to go. “I don’t think it’s too much to worry about. I just had to take the rest of the night off as a precaution.”
James made the most of his short time in Utah, but the rest of us lost because we didn’t see more of him. Team LeBron also lost to Team Giannis, 184-175. More winners and losers from All-Star Weekend…
WINNER
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown hails Deuce Tatum, whose father Jayson won the NBA All-Star Game’s Kobe Bryant MVP award after scoring a record 55 points. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
With the newly released first edition of his signature line of shoes from Jordan Brand, Tatum scored an All-Star Game record 55 points on Team Giannis and received all nine media votes for the Kobe Bryant MVP Award.
The story goes on
As Tatum said, “It’s one hell of a day,” especially since he idolized Bryant as a kid.
A masked Brown, fresh from a facial fracture (courtesy of Tatum’s elbow), led Team LeBron by 35 points.
The two Celtics teammates were the highlight of the All-Star Game, and not just because they had 90 points, 24 rebounds and 11 assists together. In the last minute of the third quarter, the two went head-to-head for the last five possessions. Brown drilled a fadeaway over Tatum, hitting him with a “too small” taunt and forcing a turnover from Tatum at the other end, adding a 3-pointer in his friend’s face to end his sequence.
As was the case all night, Tatum got the last laugh by taking a step-back 3-pointer over Brown to set another All-Star Game record (27 points in a quarter) and his co- Star from Boston was able to stop the quarter.
“It was like another day at the office for us, wasn’t it?” said Tatum, a four-time All-Star to Brown’s two. “I’ve been on the same team for six years now. We played countless one-on-ones and scrimmages against each other. We always got the best of ourselves, so it was a normal day for us. Just millions of people looked up one of the biggest stages, so we had some fun with it.”
A damn good way to get into the home stretch of the regular season for the Celtics, who are leading in the East, too.
“These are the best All-Stars to share with someone you spend essentially every day of the week with,” added Tatum, whose Celtics are 42-17. “Very happy for him. We talked about it. Now it’s time and physically, but it’s time to get back to work.”
hotel lobbies
The first person I saw entering the hotel for the All-Star Weekend was Guillermo Rodriguez from “Jimmy Kimmel Live”. He said, “It’s so cold,” and he looked for some toothpaste. Welcome to Salt Lake City.
Where else but at an NBA All-Star Game Hotel can you see Pau Gasol holding court in the lobby and Julius Erving taking photos with each kid, less than an hour before he will be named a Basketball Hall of Fame finalist, that wanted one in front of the hotel restaurant and Allen Iverson singing to himself in the elevator? That’s a span of a few hours on All-Star Saturday, mind you, and Legends just kept strolling down the corridor.
The All-Star draft before the game
The captains came prepared for the draft, which for the first time took place live before the tipoff. LeBron James pulled out of his pocket a scouting report scrawled on a piece of paper, and Giannis Antetokounmpo did even better, opening an entire notebook. Why the NBA didn’t do this sooner is beyond me.
Antetokounmpo picked up Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard for first among the reserve 14, and we ran until Antetokounmpo tried to bench a starter (Ja Morant). So much for preparation.
“Giannis is trying everything, everyone,” said James, who started the game 5-0 as captain.
James focused heavily on youth and athleticism as general manager, drafting Anthony Edwards as the first of his reserves and adding other newcomers Tyrese Haliburton, De’Aaron Fox and Jaren Jackson Jr. to his bench. Team LeBron went from a -2.5 betting favorite pre-draft to a -3.5 favorite after, likely for the stacked starting five of James, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
Whether it was the loss or some other reason, James wasn’t the biggest fan of the televised draft.
“I thought it was okay,” he said. “I liked the last format. I liked the format on TV.”
Many players admitted the draft was beneficial to fans, but expressed some uneasiness about the process, publicly because it lengthened warm-ups and privately because their egos might get hurt. But a little discomfort is worth the improved experience, and TNT doesn’t have to let the draft last as long.
If the picks had been televised earlier, for example, we wouldn’t have witnessed the awkward moment when Jokic wandered towards Team LeBron, as he and Lauri Markkanen were the last two starters left on the board, seemingly to avoid to be the last starter to be chosen. Not so, as Jokic admitted afterwards: “I thought I was last. I just got up because I thought I was last. And I felt bad, especially now that we lost.”
The full draft order…
LEBRON TEAM
Appetizers
1.Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
3.Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
7. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
reserves
10.Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
12.Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
14. Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers
16. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
18. Julius Randle, New York Knicks
20. De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
22. Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
TEAM GIANNIS
Appetizers
2.Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
4. Yes Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
6. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
8. Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
reserves
9. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
11. Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
13. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
15. DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls
17.Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
19. Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
21. Domantas Sabonis, Kings of Sacramento
Damien Lillard
Lillard attended Weber State, about half an hour from Salt Lake City, and he was by far the biggest fan favorite among non-jazz players. He wore his Wildcats jersey for the 3-point shootout and delivered a title after winning in his third appearance in the past 10 seasons.
The Blazers’ point guard fired 20 more 3-pointers during Sunday’s All-Star game, hitting eight of them, including one from the halffield and four from more than 30 feet. The last of them matched the target score for Team Giannis in the fourth quarter, rewarding Utah viewers with an Elam ending from their adoptive star.
“One thing I struggle with is appreciating some of the things that I’ve accomplished and experienced in the moment, and I come months or years later and I look back and I’m like, man, that was pretty cool,” said Lillard. “When I’m here, I was actually thinking back to the moments when I was on campus and in the dorms and I was just like, ‘Man, if basketball isn’t working, what am I actually going to do? ..
“I’ve been thinking back to those times. You forget how you started experiencing so much success and so many good times. You forget those humble beginnings. You don’t forget that it existed, you just forget how you felt in those moments you were insecure. When I think about it, I look back on everything I’ve achieved, everywhere I’ve been and what I’ve done, and I have a different appreciation for it.
Entering the All-Star Weekend, McClung said, “We’re staying the course and trying to make a difference in the league.” He has played two career games in the NBA and just last week signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers after playing most of the season for their G-League affiliate in Delaware.
He left the weekend the savior of a dunk contest that had been in decline for years. How someone generously listed at 6-foot-2 could leap over two people, tap the ball onto the back wall and dive is beyond me, let alone add a double pump over someone else and another 540-degree to throw dunks.
As the 24-year-old, from the small town of Gate City, Virginia, said, it was quite an experience to win a dunk contest trophy named after Sixers legend Julius Erving on Saturday and introduce Post Malone to the crowd in front of the All-Star present the game on Sunday. To top it off, McClung received ultimate praise from LeBron: “He’s cemented himself as one of the greatest slam dunk competitors we’ve had in the history of the game.”
Food choices at Vivint Arena
Vivint Arena is rightfully home to a dozen local restaurants, including three BBQ joints and two Mexican stands, and every one I tried over the weekend delivered good food. Highly recommend R&R BBQ’s loaded mac and cheese with pulled pork. Not for the faint of heart.
LOSER
Charles Barkley
When Barkley uttered strange names during TNT’s pregame show, which was broadcast via audio in the arena and broadcast internationally, Shaquille O’Neal asked, “Why does it sound like you’re drunk?
Let’s just say the comment didn’t sit well with Barkley.
O’Neal later led the arena by singing “Happy Birthday” to Barkley, who turned 60 on Sunday, so the night wasn’t just a roast between Hall of Famers. It still wasn’t a great weekend for TNT broadcasts.
load management
Ahead of the pre-game draft, TNT’s Ernie Johnson asked Antetokounmpo if he was ready to play, and the leading Eastern Conference voter said, “Whatever I’ve got, I’ll give it. That’s me, and that’s not going to change it.” He launched the game, dived in, and checked out 20 seconds into his night.
What he had was an injury to his right wrist from a basket leg while trying to block a shot in the Milwaukee Bucks’ final game before the All-Star break. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported After Sunday’s exhibition, Antetokounmpo will travel to New York on Monday for additional tests on his wrist.
He made the right decision, but the disappointment from expectations to reality was a reminder of an issue that became a hot topic at All-Star Weekend — load management and the unexpected absence of star players.
Hours after Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving said the term had “dehumanized” players, NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged load management as a problem at his annual All-Star press conference on Saturday.
“It’s an ongoing discussion with the players’ association,” said Silver. “This is not a new problem. Nothing special is happening this season that we haven’t seen in the last couple of seasons.”
It also wasn’t long after Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield said he’d prefer not to cut the season if it cost him money that Silver said in the same breath, “If we thought it worthwhile.” to reduce the number of games, we would”, and in another: “If it means that at some point we come to the conclusion that we are better off extending the schedule to reduce back-to-back, for example, is that something worth checking out.”
The league has significantly reduced the number of back-to-backs in recent years, and the problem persists. I’m not sure if extending the player health schedule is better than reducing the number of games played, but the reality is the league has yet to find a way to address its fans’ concerns.
“We believe we can do better,” said Silver, “but we don’t have a concrete solution yet.”
NBA pop-up shops
I must have visited five different NBA stores to look for Tatum’s All Star jersey in a size that would fit my 7 year old daughter and the only jerseys that came in any size were James, Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry. The league wants to market a new generation of players, and they didn’t have jerseys for Ja Morant, the most electric player in all of basketball, or Tatum, the event’s eventual unanimous MVP.
Make this meaningful.
There were also some more uninspired hats and t-shirts, all with the All-Star Weekend logo. You couldn’t find Chris Paul’s children’s book or anything but the most basic stuff you can think of. Let’s get creative guys. Bring back the old cartoons of all the All-Stars on a sweatshirt. The NBA has access to so much cool retro gear. They too had the idea right in front of their noses in the form of an NBA jam-style t-shirt featuring Karl Malone, John Stockton and the slogan “It must be the shoes”.
Which …
Karl Malon
One of the more bizarre All-Star Weekend experiences was the ubiquity of Malone.
It makes sense considering Malone is the jazz legend. A street outside the arena bears his name and his statue welcomes you to its doors. He also got a 13-year-old pregnant while he was a sophomore in college, and has repeatedly refused to take any responsibility for it, let alone his generally horrible behavior.
The NBA asked this guy to be the judge for their dunk contest and he seemed genuinely unhappy to be there. The league also invited Malone to attend their halftime ceremony to honor LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the game’s all-time top scorers. Malone is third on the career scorers list.
So there was Janelle Monáe, a distinguished artist and human rights advocate, reading from a script: “In this game, size brings points to the board, and for those who score points, none touches the greatness of these three legends.” And there was LeBron James, the face of the NBA, alongside Malone.
It was almost enough to make the presence of John Stockton, a conspiracy theorist who, according to Abdul-Jabbar, “causes the public to think of athletes as basically dumb athletes,” a welcome addition to the celebrations.
Nikola Jokic vs. Joel Embiid
The addition of Jokic to Team LeBron, even if it was a mistake, prevented us from seeing the reigning two-time MVP and his two-time All-Star Game runner-up battle it out. Team LeBron had the game’s only two traditional centers in the same starting lineup, so to speak. The result was 32 points for Embiid, four for Jokic and only Embiid on the floor for a competitive fourth quarter against Team Giannis.
“I think it’s fun,” said Jokic. It was not.
“I think we could play together,” he said. They should not.
“Obviously he has to play the four because he can defend a bit more than I can,” he said. OK.
“I love playing with a big man who’s really dominant, so I think it might work in the future,” he said. NO.
Jokic has teamed up with Embiid for the game’s least exciting alley-oop. All-Star is not a center game.
Inflatable mascot
During a first-half break, a group of inflatable mascots entered center court, after which the Houston Rockets representative — a bear for some reason — falsely farted into a microphone and ran into the locker room as if he had…erm … let one slip. Here we thought bears save that for the forest.
Goodbye, Salt Lake City.