The Most Entertaining Moments From the 2019 NBA All-Star Game
The 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend is in the books. The weekend was a definite success—Charlotte held up its end of the bargain, Saturday night provided some fun memories and the All-Star game saw an uptick in energy for the second straight year under the new fantasy draft format. Team LeBron prevailed over Team Giannis on Sunday, but both squads provided plenty of enjoyable moments. Let’s re-live some of the best ones right now as we wait for basketball to resume.
Dirk & Luka Whisper Challenge
I would empty all the money in my pathetic bank account for a Dirk Nowitzki-Luka Doncic reality show. Or a Bad Boys reboot. Or a buddy road trip comedy. Dirk and Luka played a spirited game of “Name That Tune” on the big screen during Sunday’s game, and it earned big laughs from the crowd. Luka’s reactions as he failed to recognize any ‘90s tunes while Dirk jammed out were priceless.
I could watch them go on for hours.
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Steph Curry Four-Point Play
Not only did Klay Thompson have to deal with the indignity of fouling his fellow Splash Brother, he briefly understood the rest of the NBA’s pain when he had to watch Stephen Curry’s three-point attempt swish through the net while Steph hammed it up from the floor.
Klay responded appropriately after the game, calling Curry a “bad sport.”
Steph also provided a bonus highlight with his self-oop reverse dunk at the end of the night.
Wade to LeBron Alley Oop
Dwyane Wade had one goal in his last All-Star game: To connect on an alley oop with his former teammate LeBron James. Wade started the second half, and after catching his own oop from James, he returned the favor in style.
The play immediately conjured memories of one of the greatest photos in NBA history.
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Paul George provided many forms of entertainment Sunday. His repeated stepback threes over James Harden were hilarious, and he also uncorked this 360 slam that was arguably better than most of the ones we saw during the dunk contest.
Speaking of those stepbacks, by the way:
Team LeBron Bench Celebrations
As Team LeBron mounted its comeback, its bench mob really started to affect the game. I don’t think something like this happens without the new draft format, and it was fun to see the guys let loose during the game. Just peep James Harden’s dance moves:
The Giannis Dunk
Yes, the pass was filthy, but I’ve never seen a human being as high in the air as Giannis Antetokounmpo was when he threw down one of the best “in-game” dunks I’ve ever seen. This dunk is why the phantom cam was invented.
