Starry, Starry Night

It was NBA All-Star Weekend today, and what fun we all had with the events in store. As usual, the commentary team of Kevin Harlan, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller & Kenny 'The Jet' Smith provided loads of laughter with their colour (or should I say "colourful") commentary. :-)

It started off with the Sears Shooting Stars, where Team Bosh came from behind to upset Team Westbrook. It was a fun contest that teamed WNBA players with their NBA counterparts, and it was real fun watching the players sturggle with the final shot from half-court. In the end, 'The Human Highlight Film' Dominique Wilkins sunk the final basket for his team, while Westbrook was left frustrated in seeing a few of his efforts go in-and-out.

The second event was the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, where again there was an upset. Portland rookie Damian Lillard showed he had the holistic chops to beat Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday. But the biggest disappointment in this contest has to be San Antonio's Tony Parker, last season's defending champion from this event. His disastrous showing meant the East managed to pip the West in the Team Challenge category. He looked a little too over-confident if you ask me, and it was notable that his team-mates didn't even console or acknowledge him after he returned to the bench at side-court.

Next up was the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and here Cleveland Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving blew everyone away with a magnificent shooting display. He reigned in three after three, scoring an overall 23 out of 30 points to defeat the 'Red Mamba' (and formerly 'Red Rocket') Matt Bonner from San Antonio. Bonner, while an excellent shooter, has a rather flat arc on his jump-shot which might not be suited for such a competition; thus I instinctively went for Irving in the final.

Last up was the competition everyone was waiting for: the Sprite Slam Dunk contest. My personal favourite was Denver's Kenneth Faried, and while he did impress with a few of his dunks. his first was unfortunately ranked too low for him to advance. The originality award goes to James 'Flight' White of the New York Knicks, who called on a bevy of pretty air stewardesses to line the coronation for his impressive near-free throw line two-handed slam. The final duel was a worhty one. Terrence Ross of the Blazers versus Jeremy Evans of the Jazz. The two of them performed original and acrobatic stunts but the final ovation was deservedly for Ross, who thrilled the crowd with a series of beautifully-executed slams to bring the crowd to its feet. He was clearly a worthy winner of the 2013 Slam Dunk contest.

I love the NBA.