Blake Griffin, dunks highlight All-Star Game-like USA Basketball Showcase
LAS VEGAS—The 2015 USA Basketball Showcase ended in the most appropriate way: With Blake Griffin looking to the heavens after missing an uncontested, off-the-backboard alley-oop.
USAB managing director Jerry Colangelo promised this year’s event, which was voluntary for prospective 2016 Rio Olympic candidates invited to a four-day minicamp this week, would be an “off-season type of All-Star Game,” and the exhibition lived up—or perhaps down—to that billing. USA White ultimately prevailed Thursday 134–128 over USA Blue at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center in a lighthearted, easy-going game that was a gumbo of blown dunks, missed three-pointers by big men who shouldn’t be shooting them, and invisible interior defense.
The exhibition was defined more by who didn’t play than who did. The 18 players who suited up didn’t include any previous Olympians, although six members of USA’s gold medal-winning 2014 FIBA World Cup team—DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Mason Plumlee and Klay Thompson—did play. All-Stars Dwight Howard and Kyrie Irving were present, but they watched from the bench.
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“Kyrie wasn’t throwing the alley-oops,” Krzyzewski quipped about the choppy play. “Centers were throwing the alley-oops. We didn’t put in an offense, so don’t judge us.”
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So many of the 34 players invited to this week’s minicamp skipped out on the event that USAB organizers had to call on the likes of Amir Johnson, Terrence Jones, Elfrid Payton and Arron Afflalo to help fill out the rosters. The pro-am feel to the affair was completed by the fact that some of the call-ups wore generic USA jerseys that bore numbers but not their last names on the back.
Both teams seemed to take every precaution to avoid injury, and no one could blame them after Paul George’s horrific leg injury ended the 2014 USAB Showcase early. Whereas that game left some of its participants in tears, this year's version was all smiles. Thompson provided one of the highlights of the night by dribbling the ball through DeRozan's legs in transition, Victor Oladipo brought the crowd to its feet with his dunk on Michael Carter-Williams, and Faried drew laughs by standing with his hand on his waist, as if waiting impatiently in line at the supermarket, as he milked the clock down on the first half's final possession.
“Tonight was a lot different than a year ago at this time,” Colangelo said, referencing the loss of George. “We’re thankful and grateful we didn’t have any problems or injuries.”
USA White’s clear talent advantage eventually won out: White fielded three All-Stars (Griffin, Cousins and Thompson) and the top two Defensive Player of the Year finishers (Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green), while USA Blue had just one All-Star (DeRozan). One could argue that Griffin, Cousins, Thompson, Leonard and Green were the only players in the exhibition with a real shot at landing a spot on the 2016 Olympic roster.
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Griffin, who unsurprisingly emerged as a fan favorite due to his numerous dunks, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists for USA White, who was led by USAB assistant coach Tom Thibodeau.
Cousins led USA White with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but the 6'11'' center drew scattered boos as he missed all six of his three-point attempts. Plumlee added 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Drummond led USA Blue with a game-high 27 points and 16 rebounds. Oladipo chipped in 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists off the bench for USAB assistant Monty Williams.
The Showcase drew 12,211 fans, including former USAB Olympian Steve Smith and the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
GALLERY: Best players ever by jersey number
Best NBA Players by Jersey Number
00 — Robert Parish
0 — Russell Westbrook
1 — Oscar Robertson
2 — Moses Malone
3 — Dwyane Wade
4 — Adrian Dantley
5 — Kevin Garnett
6 — Bill Russell
7 — Pete Maravich
8 — Kobe Bryant
9 — Bob Pettit
10 — Walt Frazier
11 — Isiah Thomas
12 — John Stockton
13 — Wilt Chamberlain
14 — Bob Cousy
15 — Vince Carter
16 — Bob Lanier
17 — John Havlicek
18 — Dave Cowens
19 — Willis Reed
20 — Gary Payton
21 — Tim Duncan
22 — Elgin Baylor
23 — Michael Jordan
24 — Rick Barry
25 — Mark Price
26 — Kyle Korver
27 — Jack Twyman
28 — Arron Afflalo
29 — Paul Silas
30 — Bernard King
31 — Reggie Miller
32 — Magic Johnson
33 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
34 — Shaquille O’Neal
35 — Kevin Durant
36 — Rasheed Wallace
37 — Nick Van Exel
38 — Viktor Khryapa
39 — Jerami Grant
40 — Shawn Kemp
41 — Dirk Nowitzki
42 — James Worthy
43 — Jack Sikma
44 — Jerry West
45 — Rudy Tomjanovic
46 — Bo Outlaw
47 — Andrei Kirilenko
48 — Nazr Mohammed
49 — Shandon Anderson
50 — David Robinson
51 — Reggie King
52 — Jamaal Wilkes
53 — Artis Gilmore
54 — Horace Grant
55 — Dikembe Mutombo
56 — Francisco Elson
57 — Hilton Armstrong
61 — Bevo Nordmann
62 — Scot Pollard
70 — Frank Selvy
71 — Willie Naulls
72 — Jason Kapono
73 — Dennis Rodman
76 — Shawn Bradley
77 — Gheorghe Muresan
83 — Craig Smith
84 — Chris Webber
85 — Baron Davis
86 — Semih Erden
88 — Nicolas Batum
89 — Clyde Lovellette
90 — Drew Gooden
91 — Dennis Rodman
92 — DeShawn Stevenson
93 — Metta World Peace (Ron Artest)
94 — Evan Fournier
96 — Metta World Peace (Ron Artest)
98 — Jason Collins
99 — George Mikan