The 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend was filled with incredible displays of talent, excitement, and entertainment that left basketball fans buzzing with excitement. Held in Indianapolis, Ind. from Feb. 16-18, the weekend festivities showcased the league’s top stars competing in various competitions and exhibitions.
The action-packed weekend kicked off on Friday with the Panini Rising Stars game that featured some of the league’s most exciting young talent. Third-year guard and Indiana Pacers’ very own Bennedict Mathurin took home MVP honors, scoring 13 points in a 26-13 victory in the championship game while receiving “MVP” chants from his home crowd.
Saturday kicked off with the Kia Skills Challenge that featured “Team Pacers,” comprised of Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, and Myles Turner; “Team Top Picks” comprised of the number one overall draft picks over the past three years, Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves- 2021) Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic-2022), and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs-2023); and “Team All-Stars” that consisted of Scottie Barnes from the Toronto Raptors, Tyrese Maxey from the Philadelphia 76ers, and Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks. The skills challenge consists of various events such as dribbling circuits, passing challenges, layups, three pointers, and half court shots. “Team Pacers” won the first two rounds, each worth 100 challenge points. “Team All-Stars” dominated the shooting round, which was worth 200 challenge points, setting up a tiebreaker to determine the winner. “Team Pacers” edged out “Team All-Stars” to win the skills competition in front of their home fans.
The next event was the Starry three-point Contest that featured some of the best shooters in the league. This year’s contest came down to the very last shot, with Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks defeating Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks by a score of 26-25. This victory marked back-to-back titles for Lillard, who proved himself once again as one of the league’s best three-point shooters.
Immediately following the three-point contest was the Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu three-point challenge. This was a huge milestone for basketball, as it was the first ever NBA vs. WNBA event at an all-star weekend. Ionescu, who is a member of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, was on fire, scoring 26 points. Stephen Curry, who plays for NBA’s Golden State Warriors and is considered the best shooter of all time, edged out Ionescu and finished with a final score of 29. Each shot made in this challenge triggered a donation from State Farm to the NBA Foundation to support economic empowerment in African-American communities.
The night concluded with the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest that featured Jaylen Brown from the Boston
Celtics, Jaime Jaquez Jr. from the Miami Heat, Mac McClung from the Osceola Magic (Orlando Magic’s G-League affiliate), and Jacob Toppin from the Westchester Knicks (New York Knicks G-League affiliate). The final round featured a showdown between McClung and Brown, but it was McClung who stole the show when he jumped over 7’1” NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal to win back-to-back dunk contests, making him the first player since Chicago Bulls Zach Lavine to repeat as champion.
To cap off an already exciting weekend, the all-star game itself was held on Sunday night that featured the Eastern Conference all-star team vs. the Western Conference all-star team. This game was an offensive lover’s dream, as the final score was 211-186, with the Eastern Conference coming out on top. The 211 points scored by the Eastern Conference were the most points scored in all-star game history. Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard took home his second piece of hardware of the weekend, winning all-star game MVP as he led the way for the East with 39 points. Lillard became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988 to win two events in the same All-Star weekend.
This was one of the most memorable All-Star weekends in a long time, which helps sets a great tone for the second half of the NBA season. I can’t wait to see how the regular season concludes and playoff seeding unfolds.
