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Winners & Losers From All-Star Weekend 2016

Highlights & lowlights from a memorable weekend.

This was easily one of the best All-Star Weekends in recent memory. So much fun stuff happened, & also some not-so-fun stuff for others. So let’s take a look at who “won” & “lost” this past weekend.

WINNERS

Everyone who watched the Slam Dunk Contest: That was arguably one of the best Slam Dunk Contests ever, so we are all winners for getting to watch that display of awesomeness.

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Zach LaVine: What a weekend for Zach LaVine. Not only did he outlast Aaron Gordon to win his second consecutive Slam Dunk Contest, but in case you forgot, he also won the MVP in the Rising Stars Challenge. There was a lot of hype around what LaVine was going to do in the dunk contest, & he more than delivered. But it was his MVP performance in the Rising Stars Challenge that was really impressive. He showed he could do more than just dunk by showing some range & hustle, as he finished with 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting, with 7 rebounds & 4 assists. And to top it off, he posted this really cool tribute to his late coach, Flip Saunders.

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Aaron Gordon: If you haven’t heard about what Aaron Gordon did on Saturday night by now, then crawl out from under that rock & go on YouTube already. He put on a show by doing some of the best & most creative dunks anyone has ever seen. Unfortunately, he didn’t take home the trophy, to the dismay of many fans who felt he was robbed. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take away from what he did. Although he didn’t win the Slam Dunk Contest, he won over the internet & will definitely be on everyone’s radar, at least for the rest of this season.

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Russell Westbrook: Russell Westbrook took home his second consecutive All-Star MVP, becoming the first to accomplish that since Bob Pettit in 1958 & 1959. Russ finished with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, & 5 steals. He highlighted the night by throwing down some monster dunks & drilling 7 3-pointers. Some people thought Paul George & his 41 points should have won the MVP, but Westbrook was easily the best player on the better team that night & was more than deserving of the trophy. He also showed off some pretty nice dance moves.

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D’Angelo Russell & Jordan Clarkson: It’s been rough for these two in LA under head coach Byron Scott. Scott has these guys on a tight leash, Russell more so than Clarkson, so a glorified pick-up game like the Rising Stars Challenge was a good way to finally let them off the leash & play freely. Both Clarkson & Russell played very well, showcasing their talents that we all know they have in them & earned high praise from star players around the league. After the game, the two were asked a question about their situations in LA that tried to insight a juicy response, given Byron Scott’s relationship with his young players. Clarkson gave a pretty mild answer & when it was Russell’s turn to answer, Clarkson tried to mumble to him “don’t say nothing crazy”, but was picked up by the mic, clearly showing the young players’ disdain for their head coach. Russell then proceeded to give a very careful, mild answer, as well. This may or may not worsen things for them when they get back to LA, but now everyone knows what these two are capable of & Scott will be even more of a fool to not play them more. Scott won’t be around for much longer, but Clarkson & Russell are here to stay.

Jason Sudeikis: This vine summed up Jason Sudeikis’ Friday night. Not only did he show off some impressive shooting, but he’s engaged to Olivia Wilde. Team Canada may have went home with the victory, but Jason Sudeikis went home with Olivia Wilde. And for that, he is always a winner.

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#TeamLightskin: Zach LaVine & Aaron Gordon had one of, if not THE best Slam Dunk Contest finals of all time. Not to mention LaVine also won the Rising Stars Challenge MVP. Russell Westbrook got his second consecutive All-Star Game MVP. Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, & Devin Booker were all in the 3-Point Contest finals, with Klay Thompson winning it all. Karl-Anthony Towns won the Skills Challenge. And Drake was a terrific ambassador for the 6IX & host of the festivities, not trying to steal all the spotlight for himself(*cough* Kevin Hart *cough*) & letting it be all about the players. What a weekend for #TeamLightskin.

LOSERS

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Will Barton: Tough night for Will “The Thrill”. His night started off with this awkward intro video, then he came out to a cheesy version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, which was followed by the Chuckster continuing to ask who exactly calls him “The Thrill”. With all that being said, his first dunk was actually nice. Aaron Gordon then comes out & pretty much does the same dunk, but received a higher score than Barton, even though Barton did it first & his was arguably more difficult. So there was that, but you then thought things might look up for Barton in the next round after his first dunk. Then, after he unsuccessfully tried twice to do the Vince Carter reverse 360 windmill off a bounce, he missed a relatively easy dunk to finish dunk-less & was subsequently eliminated. Not a whole lot of thrill from Will Saturday night.

Will Barton’s zombies: They had to put on all that make up, get all dressed up & do a dance to a cheesy intro for a guy who never had a chance.

Sage Steele: I love Sage Steele, but this was a bad look for her. Whether it was her choice to cut off Win Butler, or someone in the control room told her to do it, she came off looking like the bad guy for making it seem like politics aren’t as important as “celebrity stuff”.

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Paul George: To be fair, Paul George was great in the All-Star Game. He set the All-Star Game record for most 3-pointers made with 9, en route to his impressive 41 point performance. However, it was all for naught, considering the East got blown out 196–173. It was an MVP-like performance, but you can’t give the MVP to a player on the losing team. Not only did he miss out on the MVP, but he missed out on passing Wilt Chamberlain for most points in an All-Star Game. BY ONE BUCKET. The West players will deny it, but they knew PG was close to breaking the record, which is why they actually tried on defense in an All-Star Game towards the end. So not only was PG denied the MVP, he was also denied from the record books. But it’s alright, he’s still the best comeback story in the NBA, so it’s all good.

James White: Do you remember James “Flight” White? If not, thats ok, I’ll remind you. He’s a basketball player who has spent most of his career overseas & became somewhat of an internet sensation in the late 2000’s for his array of free-throw line dunks in a dunk contest for the Turkish Basketball League. Fast forward to 2013, White is now playing for the Knicks & in the Slam Dunk Contest. Everyone is waiting to see him show off his free-throw line dunks on the biggest stage. This is what happened instead. He was waived a couple months later & now plays in Croatia. Fast forward, again, to this Slam Dunk Contest, & Zach LaVine pretty much did the same dunks from the free throw line that James White unsuccessfully attempted. Not only did he do them, but he made them look effortless. LaVine even admitted after to never even trying the Eastbay Funk from the free-throw line before. Sorry, James.

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Draymond Green: And finally we have Draymond Green. I love Draymond Green. He’s killing it for me on my fantasy basketball team, but this was a weekend he’ll want to forget. First, he lost in the first round of the Skills Challenge to the Big KAT, despite being a heavy favorite for the bigs. Then came the worst moment of the whole weekend. In a horribly scripted “feud”, thanks to the NBA’s partnership with Foot Locker, Kevin Hart challenged Draymond to a gimmick 3-point contest before the actual 3-point contest. They brought out Michael Buffer to do introductions & they even had a trophy made ahead of time with Draymond’s face on it that was almost as tall as Kevin Hart. Everything was set-up for Draymond to embarrass Kevin Hart, Kevin Hart react by doing Kevin Hart things, & we all get a big laugh. One problem: KEVIN HART & DRAYMOND GREEN TIED. Draymond went first & clanked his way to making only 12 shots. Kevin Hart’s turn started slow, but he rallied late & made his 12th shot at the buzzer. The NBA was so committed to the bit, that they had TNT stop keeping score when Kevin Hart made his 11th shot. And to make matters even worse, they proceeded with the bit as if Draymond had won & Kevin Hart had to act like he was mad & got embarrassed, with Draymond & the MC making fun of him & everything, even though the exact opposite happened. It was cringe-worthily awkward to watch & probably even more so for them to have to perform. The NBA later admitted that it was in fact a tie, but whole thing was awful from start to finish & backfired on Draymond Green completely. And just to add insult to injury, he blew a wide-open dunk on his first touch in the All-Star Game. Fortunately for Draymond, this will all soon pass, the Warriors continue to win, & he’ll keep on getting triple-doubles & helping my fantasy team.