The All-Star Game. An NBA tradition since 1951. Every single year we have had an All-Star game. Though some years have been more interesting than others, every year there has been at least one thing to talk about. But, in the last few years the All-Star game has seen a major decline. There are several things that are to blame for this. The main thing that has been dragging down the All-Star game is effort. NBA superstars simply don’t see the value in putting in their full effort and ability into a game that doesn’t have any real effect on their NBA career. Back in the 90’s and 2000’s, the superstars wanted to compete. A showing of the best skills in the whole league was always interesting and attracted viewers from across the world. This year was different from the last few. The effort still wasn’t there, but the NBA changed the entire format of the All-Star week.
The All-Star Game
This year was a little different. We had 4 teams this year. The teams were Shaq’s OGs (made up of mostly veterans, Chuck’s Global Stars (made up of mostly players from outside of the USA), Kenny’s Young Stars (made up of mostly younger players), and Candace’s Rising Stars (made up of G-League players and rookies). The final was played between Shaq’s OGs and Kenny’s Young Stars. The final score was 42-35, with the winner being Shaq’s OGs. Steph Curry was voted All-Star game MVP in his home arena. He got 12 out of the 14 votes and scored 12 of his team’s 42 points. That included a half court shot that made the crowd go crazy. Though some may argue that Jayson Tatum deserved the MVP for his 15 point effort, I believe that Steph’s 12 points and clear impact on the game (+he was at his home arena so it made a good story) was plenty to make him deserving of the MVP.
Dunk Contest
Similar to the All-Star game, the dunk contest has also seen a decline. There are a lot of reasons for this. One reason is that superstars just aren’t competing anymore. Another reason is that there aren’t as many crazy dunks. This is mainly attributed to most dunks already being done in the past. Another reason is that some contestants will take over a minute just to make their dunk. When contestants take so long, the suspense and excitement for the player to do the dunk goes way down and people get bored really quickly. But, similar to the All-Star game, this year was different. Mac Mclung decided that it was his time to shine. Being the winner of the previous 2 dunk contests, his eyes were on a 3-peat. He put on a show. Every dunk my jaw just dropped lower and lower. He ended with a win and the title of the only person to win 3 consecutive dunk contests in a row.
3-point Contest
Unfortunately, there isn’t all that much to talk about regarding the 3 point contest. It was similar to every other 3 point contest we’ve seen. The final 3 players were Darius Garland, Buddy Hield, and Tyler Herro. Darius Garland went first and got a low score of 19. Next up was Tyler Herro. He started off a little bit off, but really picked up the pace towards the end and ended with a strong score of 24. Buddy Hield went last. He was neck and neck with Herro throughout the whole contest, and missed his last few shots. He ended with a score of 23, crowning Tyler Herro as the 2025 3-point contest champion.
Skills Challenge
This year’s skill challenge was interesting yet boring at the same time. In my opinion, the only interesting thing about the skill challenge was the controversy about the Spurs team’s strategy. That is a whole article on its own (coming soon as of 2/24/25!), so go read about that. If you don’t know what the skills challenge is, 2 players from the same team will compete in basic skills like 3 point shots, passing, and layups. Whichever team has the highest average time is crowned the winners. 4 teams competed. They were Team Cavs, Team Warriors, Team Spurs, and Team Rooks (rookies). The eventual champions (after the Spurs were disqualified) were the Cavs, whose team consisted of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this years All-Star week was way more interesting than the last few years. Every single part (except maybe the 3-point contest) was more exciting than last year. I really hope that the NBA can keep their momentum going and have another good year next season.
Leave a Reply