Giannis Wins MVP, Capping Off NBA All-Star Weekend

            On Sunday night, the NBA held their annual All-Star weekend events, capped off by an exciting All-Star game.

The night started off with the Skills Challenge, which was won by Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis. It was an entertaining competition, but Sabonis was on fire from the start, beating Knicks forward Julius Randle easily in the first round, and then beating Mavericks star guard Luka Luka Dončić in the semi-finals. He then edged out Orlando Magic center Nikola Vučević in the final round to win the trophy.

Then came the Three-Point Contest. In the final round, we were left with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Jazz guard Mike Conley, and former three point contest winner, Warriors guard Stephen Curry. Conley had a spectacular final round, scoring 27 points. But Curry had a chance to beat his score, and he did, scoring 28 and narrowly winning the competition for a second time, adding to his win in 2014

           During halftime of the All-Star game is when the Dunk Contest was held. It was not one of the better dunk contests that we have seen, but with the contestants all being lesser known young players, they put on a decent show. While Cassius Stanley of the Indiana Pacers was eliminated in the first round, his opening between-the-legs dunk was impressive. Ultimately, it was Anfernee Simons from the Portland Trail Blazers who beat Obi Toppin of the New York Knicks in the final round.

           The All-Star game itself was packed with highlight plays from several of the game’s best players. Team LeBron took on Team Durant, in what was an exciting game. As per usual, not much defense was played. There were several great performances from players on both sides. Steph Curry and Damian Lillard, both on Team LeBron, each made several long range three-pointers throughout the game. Chris Paul broke Magic Johnson’s record for most assists in an All Star game, with an impressive 16 on the night. On Team Durant, Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal each had great scoring nights. In the end, the MVP Award went to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had one of the best All Star game performances of all time. He scored 35 points, while shooting 16-for-16 from the field. He made every single shot that he took, including three from beyond the arc. His incredible performance led to not only the MVP award, but also Team LeBron winning the game, with the final score being 170-150.