-
Kalan Hooks, ESPN
Now that the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis has concluded, the league will resume its regularly scheduled programming.
In the celebrity game, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was named MVP after posting 37 points and grabbing 16 rebounds to lead Team Shannon to a 100-91 win over Team Stephen A.
After Team Pacers — consisting of Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin — won the Skills Challenge, Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard defended his 3-point competition title with a clutch money ball shot to seal his victory.
On Sunday, the East All-Stars set a new record for the most points scored in an All-Star Game in a 211-186 win over the West, which prompted discussions about the level of competitiveness.
Here’s how the weekend showcase of the league’s best players unfolded as told by social media:
Kai Cenat didn’t perform the way he wanted
When announced he’d play in the Celebrity All-Star Game, online streamer Kai Cenat seemingly took the opportunity seriously. He promoted his progress leading up to the game with videos of him working on the fundamentals of basketball which led to a mixtape.
Just a week before the game, footage was posted of Cenat playing in an organized game with kids where he was shown trolling his young opponents with “too small” celebrations.
Cenat was locked in on the day of the game. He posted a teaser of a fan asking him to score thirty points followed by a LeBron James meme on his Instagram story.
He finished with four points.
During the MVP trophy presentation, Cenat looked a bit bummed the award wouldn’t be going home with him, but quickly cheered on Parsons.
Following the game, Cenat issued an apology to his fans on Instagram.
Stephen vs. Sabrina was a win
In what might’ve been the All-Star Saturday night marquee event, Sabrina Ionescu and Stephen Curry brought the hype to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Ionescu mentioned before the duel that she would shoot from behind the NBA line.
“That decision to move to the NBA line was something that I wanted to do from the beginning,” Ionescu said.
Though Curry won the competition with 29 points, Ionescu tied the earlier 3-point contest champion with 26 points.
“If you can shoot you can shoot,” Ionsecu said after the contest. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy, I think it just matters [about] the heart that you have and wanting to be the best you can be.”
South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley loved every moment.
Heck Yeah SABRINA!! Way to represent!! #WBBvsEVERYBODY
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) February 18, 2024
Dunk contest judges… huh?
With a lineup that consisted of Dominique Wilkins, Fred Jones, Mitch Richmond, Darnell Hillman and Gary Payton, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest judges didn’t quite impress the audience with their scores.
After Jaylen Brown jumped over Cenat — who is 5-foot-3 — in a chair, he received a plethora of boos from Lucas Oil Stadium after earning a score of 47.6 from the judges.
New York Knicks forward Jacob Toppin did a 360 between-the-legs dunk that received only a 47.2, leading players around the league to share their thoughts on social media.
I’m a professional hater but I’m not hating when I say I could win the dunk contest with these scores but not sure the knees would allow it lmao
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 18, 2024
Cmon judges 😂😂😂
— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) February 18, 2024
I probably could’ve got second in this years dunk contest lol 😂
— Aaron Gordon (@Double0AG) February 18, 2024
Luka Doncic‘s shot selection
Though Doncic finished with sevens across the board — in points, rebounds and assists — his shot selection was questionable. With 23 seconds remaining on the shot clock before halftime, Nikola Jokic inbounded the ball to Doncic, who launched a shot from the other side of the court and hit nothing but the backboard.
During halftime, Doncic made a post to defend his shot selection.
2 for 1 .. analytics 😎
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) February 19, 2024
“Luka is terrible. Luka is really bad for this game. He’s worse than me, 100 percent,” Jokic said postgame, joking about Doncic’s performance.
Gilbert Arenas’ All-Star Game solution
As many former players were unhappy with the high-scoring outcome of the All-Star Game, the former Washington Wizard had an idea of his own to revamp the basketball holiday.