A different NBA All-Star

For the first time in league history, the annual highprofile practice game among superstars does not pit the highest vote getters from the Western Conference against their counterparts from the Eastern Conference.

The top vote getters from the EC and WC get to become captains and it’s no surprise Stephen Curry and LeBron James earned the highest nods from the fans. Both of them drafted their starters from the pool of players selected, without regard to conference affiliation. Because of the new set-up, players who supposedly on some kind of feud became teammates and played together as a cohesive unit without a trace of ill will.

Since the Eastern Conference is basically the Cleveland Cavaliers plus Kyrie Irving, the playground style pick-up format served the mid-season highlight festivities well, in my opinion. The purpose of the revamped format is to have a more competitive game as compared to the past ASGs.

The process for selecting the 24 players for the AllStar Game remained the same, with the top 12 from each conference earning spots to the ASG. 50% of the votes came from the fans, 25% from current players and 25% from the basketball media. Head coaches selected the reserves for each team – two guards, three wing players and two players at any position.

Either she was drunk or high on something or both, Fergie’s really bad anthem rendition never affected the players and we all saw over the weekend Team LeBron, considered as the favorite, winning over Team Stephen. Had John Wall, Kevin Love, ristaps Porzingis and DeMarcus Cousins not been injured, they probably had won by a bigger margin. True to its aim, the game was more aggressive and entertaining and actually had several defensive stops highlighted with the trap on Curry and Klay Thompson in the final seconds of the game for a potential game-tying 3-pointer.

There is more reason for the ASG to be more intense as the players on the winning team received $100,000 each, twice the amount given from last year. Members of the losing team received $25,000 each. These players have bonuses tied to their contracts with regards to their ASG appearances but the league further added a separate incentive for ASG winners.

The final score was still high by regular standards but at least the game showed intensity, compared to the scores of the ASG at New Orleans and Toronto the past two years where guarding the opponent was optional.

Team LeBron’s charity of choice, After School AllStars Los Angeles, received $350,000 while Team Stephen’s Brotherhood Crusade got $150,000. Both charities support at-risk youths and students in the Los Angeles area. The $500,000 total given to charity was subsidized by the NBA.

In his 14th ASG and the oldest at 33 in that game, Bron won his 3rd AS MVP, tying Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Oscar Roberston. Bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant each had four AS MVPs. He also won the award in 2006 and 2008. With 343 points, he is the all-time leading scorer of the All-Star Game.

The NBA has more than 300 active players and most, if not all desire to be included in the All-Star festivities. But only 10% get that chance and of that small number, several get to be selected multiple times. Yet one player chose to be selfish. Jimmy Butler could have given his spot to another player instead of opting to sit on the bench and not play, because he was tired and wanted to rest. Selfish because that was an easy $25,000 for him.

A star is born in rookie Donovan Mitchell of Utah who won the Slam Dunk crown with a tribute dunk to Vince Carter. The 6-3 Mitchell edged ex-Laker Larry Nance, Jr. by two points with an almost exact copy of the spin dunk VC did 18 years ago. Larry Jr. was hoping to win it with his dad around, who won the contest 34 years ago. Yes, Jr. did the cradle dunk Sr. did in 1984, wearing a vintage #22 Suns uniform and short shorts.

2nd year pro Devin Booker bested Klay Thompson and Tobias Harris with impeccable shooting, hitting 20 of 25 in the final round for a score of 28, erasing they previous record of 27 made by Curry in 2015 and was matched by Klay the year after.

I had my misgivings about the new format but the players themselves liked it. It allows them to pick up players for their teams thus making the game more challenging and interesting. I hope that next year, when the respective captains draft their players, it will be shown on TV.

It’s all over but the bragging rights and it is back to serious business. With 26 games left in the regular season, contending teams will now have to review their game plans to solidify their playoff spots. The WC is still the Golden State Warriors’ domain and the LA Lakers are going nowhere but the beneficiaries of Nance, Jr. and Jordan Clarkson are marching to an upbeat and a much brighter Eastern Conference contention. It’s shaping up to a fourth Warriors - Cavs showdown.