What we learned at NBA All-Star Weekend
Anthony Edwards beamed a smile as he cradled the NBA All-Star MVP trophy for the first time in his career, just a day after making the claim that Sunday’s U.S. vs. World format wouldn’t return any competitive fire to the league’s midseason showcase. Either the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was motivated or he played a clever…
Anthony Edwards beamed a smile as he cradled the NBA All-Star MVP trophy for the first time in his career, just a day after making the claim that Sunday’s U.S. vs. World format wouldn’t return any competitive fire to the league’s midseason showcase.
Either the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was motivated or he played a clever game of bait-and-switch, knowing he would compete and show how much he cares about competition and fan approval. By the time Edwards and the young Team Stars capped off the festivities, routing Team Stripes’ veterans in Sunday’s championship game, the weekend was already one of the more impactful in recent league history.
Here are four of the biggest storylines that emerged from Los Angeles, including whether the new-look All-Star Game has staying power, why the 3-point contest crown is safe with Damian Lillard and what NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s comments over the weekend could mean for the future of the draft.
Is the All-Star Game back? Sunday proved it’s up to the stars
All you had to see was Victor Wembanyama stomping off the floor following the first game.
After Team Stars’ Scottie Barnes was left open for a winning 3-pointer in overtime, the San Antonio Spurs‘ 7-foot-4 phenom was headed in the opposite direction, talking to himself because someone missed an assignment.
“It was our second time allowing a 3 when we shouldn’t have,” Wembanyama said. “I would have expected us to be smarter right here, so that was disappointing.”
Rarely has a player used “disappointing” to describe an All-Star Game defeat, at least in the past few years. Usually, it has been the game itself that hasn’t lived up to billing.
Although Wembanyama didn’t win the night’s Most Valuable Player, he might as well have. Edwards admitted as much in his postgame news conference, stating Wembanyama’s massive presence motivated him to show up out of fear of being shown up. So much so that fellow All-Stars were on high alert.
“Of course I played a part in it,” Wembanyama said. “Say somebody blocks me or somebody gets blocked on the other end. You don’t want to let the opponent score, you know what I mean?”
That’s how you know this game meant something after years of apathy and critique: Players broke a sweat, committed (and argued) fouls and showed emotion. Wembanyama didn’t seem to mind the responsibility of bringing that intensity back to the All-Star Game, but is it a sign he’s ready for the responsibility of being the face of the league?
For his part, Wembanyama has no problem saying the quiet part out loud.
“It’s something that’s got to be natural, of course,” Wembanyama said. “The NBA can promote whoever they want. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be the best players and who the people ask for. Being the face of the league, it’s something that can be manufactured but only to some extent.”
His words were the weekend’s biggest influence, and other players followed suit. They didn’t need financial incentives or a speech from Silver. Showing more effort and charisma was what the viewers wanted. Yes, players are stretched thin through the weekend with little time to rest before the regular-season gauntlet continues. But Sunday proved the league can find success injecting drama into the game.
And although Wembanyama didn’t get MVP or a victory, his play on the court and passion off it helped the NBA secure a much-needed win.
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Ant Edwards explains why he enjoyed the All-Star Game’s competitiveness
Anthony Edwards tells Malika Andrews why he enjoyed the NBA All-Star Game’s competitiveness this year.
Ant Man plays it cool before playing hero
Edwards rose to the occasion, even in the game his team lost to Team Stripes, hounding Kevin Durant into a steal and pulling up in transition for a 3 that would have given his team the deciding advantage until De’Aaron Fox hit his own buzzer-beating triple. Throughout the night, Edwards’ energy carried his team, especially in the championship game when the older players on Team Stripes started to tire. Edwards was fresh and had no problem leading Team Stars to a victory that wasn’t nearly as compelling as the first three games.
His nonchalant attitude was a cover for his own competitiveness. It was evident to Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who had never spent significant time with Edwards until this past weekend.
“You love people who bring that type of energy every single day, people who have that spark to them,” Bickerstaff said. “People who have that joy around the game, where the game of basketball is not a chore to them, it’s something they genuinely love.”
Perhaps Edwards truly doesn’t want the responsibility of leading the league into the next generation. Perhaps he doesn’t want a white-hot spotlight on every facet of his life. But there’s something undeniable about the way he shows up, the way he looks into the cameras and appears so comfortable in his own skin, which could be scary for a league office that likes its stars clean-cut and predictable, attributes not always associated with the electric 24-year-old.
Edwards’ personality almost obscures the work he has put into his game. The Minnesota Timberwolves are the only constant in the NBA’s version of the Final Four the past two years, with Edwards being the catalyst. He’s not yet a Finals champion, but he has taken out some of the league’s giants in the past two postseasons: Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Kevin Durant.
Do Silver’s comments on tanking spell draft changes?
In one of Silver’s most impactful All-Star Weekend interview sessions, the commissioner discussed expansion and the possibility of relocation. But the biggest buzz centered around tanking, which has become a scourge on the league with as many as 10 rebuilding teams seeming to actively chase better draft position.
Could the league flatten the lottery odds even further? What about abolishing the draft altogether and letting prospects select their own teams?
So far, the latter talking point has not come up in meetings with the competition committee, sources told ESPN. The idea of lottery-bound teams competing against each other in a tournament also hasn’t gained traction, showing how far eliminating the draft is from the league’s plans. Several major hurdles, including getting any draft changes collectively bargained, would need to be cleared.
For now, with the Utah Jazz the latest team under fire, the NBA is seemingly exploring every other option to curb tanking. That has included discussions on heavier fines and the possibility of franchises losing draft picks should the tactics become so blatant.
In discussions with league officials over the weekend, some sources have been receptive to other methods, such as setting lottery odds earlier in the season instead of after the full 82-game schedule. But most important, a high-ranking official suggested, was discussing fine amounts for teams that are blatantly skirting the rules.
“You hurt them in the pocketbook,” they said. “What happens if they don’t receive their full revenue share if the league finds them guilty?”
Tanking challenges the fabric of competition in the league. And even if this season has provided the perfect storm of teams losing to keep pick protections ahead of a potential generational draft class, the league should consider every option to curtail the annual race to the bottom.
The return of Dame Time, 3-point contest king
Nobody wanted to see Damian Lillard looking like a shell of himself in the 3-point competition, especially when the last view of him was clutching a torn Achilles in the first round of last season’s playoffs. But Lillard knew he wasn’t going out like that, outlasting Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel for his third 3-point crown.
“It started off as kind of a joke,” Lillard said of entering the contest. “Something opened up … It was literally that simple. I said I would do it, and the next day I was in the competition.”
He can’t sprint or do any serious on-court work right now. But he can absolutely still let it fly from beyond the arc.
“I think this was necessary and was needed for the fans,” Lillard said. “I think about when I was a kid and I went to All-Star Weekend in 2000 when it was in Oakland, and the No. 1 thing I was excited about was like, man, this dude is going to go against this dude in the dunk contest and these dudes going against each other in the 3-point shootout. I was once a fan like that.”
Unlike Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, Lillard isn’t angling to get on the floor this year to help a contender for the stretch run, but the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer seems to have inspired some of his sharpshooting brethren to join him next season.
Stephen Curry, the league’s career 3-point king, announced Sunday that he’s entering next year’s competition in Phoenix, adding that he’s willing to talk former teammate Klay Thompson into joining him.
Both Curry and Thompson are closer to the end than the beginning of their respective NBA careers, but with Saturday nights in All-Star Weekend needing a boost, it’s not surprising to see Curry’s competitive juices flare up one more time. If next season’s 3-point contest delivers, thank Lillard, who seems to capture the spirit of what this weekend is supposed to be and who is inspiring other big names to join him. Perhaps the dunk contest, which has long been the anchor to All-Star Saturday night, needs a similar superstar push.
