Antetokounmpo has summer plans in China
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo confirmed Saturday that he will compete with the Greek national team in the FIBA World Cup this summer in China. The 32team event begins on Aug. 31 and runs until Sept. 15.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Antetokounmpo said. “Let’s be healthy first. Knock on wood, (I’ll) stay healthy.”
During the summer of 2017, Antetokounmpo spent time with the Greek national team but withdrew prior to EuroBasket — the European championship — due to a right knee injury. His withdrawal led to unsubstantiated accusations from the Greek Federation that he and the Bucks had staged a plot to keep the superstar from competing.
Diallo secures slam dunk title
Say this for All-Star Saturday Night: It had flair.
Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo is the NBA’s slam dunk champion.
Going over Shaquille O’Neal in the first round, then getting a boost from rapper Quavo in the finale, Diallo soared to the crown by topping New York’s Dennis Smith Jr.
Diallo topped Smith 88-85 in the finale. Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Atlanta’s John Collins went out in the first round.
Smith leapfrogged Miami’s Dwyane Wade and took a lob from Stephen Curry to give himself a chance with his last dunk, getting a perfect score from the judges – and a round of boos from the crowd, many of whom weren’t that impressed.
That left Diallo as the night’s final participant.
Diallo pulled off a dunk that will be talked about for years in the first round – dunking over O’Neal, hanging on the rim by his elbow, then tearing open his jersey to reveal a “Superman” shirt. And then he plucked the ball from Quavo as he went airborne for the dunk that sealed the title.
Tatum wins skills competition
Boston’s Jayson Tatum hit a three-pointer from just beyond midcourt to beat Atlanta’s Trae Young in the final round of the skills competition.
“I didn’t want to give Trae a chance,” Tatum said.
Tatum topped Denver’s Nikola Jokic in the semifinals.
Davis gets to be LeBron’s teammate Sunday
Anthony Davis isn’t completely sure if he’s going to play in Sunday’s AllStar Game. He doesn’t know how much the New Orleans Pelicans will have him play the rest of this season. Or where he’ll play next season. Or where he’ll play the season after that, either.
So Davis, obviously, has a lot of questions.
“It’s time to go play ball,” Davis said. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Davis — provided a shoulder strain doesn’t keep him out — will finally be LeBron James’ teammate Sunday, when Team LeBron takes on Antetokounmpo’s Team Giannis in the All-Star Game. The league’s showcase exhibition always comes with subplots, and this year, the one where Davis just asked for a trade that didn’t come seemed to generate more all-star weekend buzz than anything else.