NBA All-Star 2021: who was MVP, who were the contest winners?
Sunday saw the 70th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, an event that also included the Skills Challenge, the 3-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed the MVP award as Team LeBron won the 2021 NBA All-Star Game 170-150 on Sunday.
Giannis named MVP after 35-point haul helps Team LeBron to victory
Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s MVP in both 2019 and 2020, racked up 35 points to help see off Team Durant and in the process secure a fourth straight All-Star victory for Team LeBron.
It is the first time that Antetokounmpo, 26, has won the prize, renamed the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player award in the wake of the LA Lakers great’s death in January 2020.
Sabonis wins Skills Challenge
Before the All-Star Game, the Indiana Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis took the spoils in the Skills Challenge, beating the Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic in the final of the obstacle-course contest, which tests players’ dribbling, passing, agility and shooting.
Having seen off the New York Knicks’ Julius Randle and the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic in the first two rounds, Sabonis completed the job in the final to go one better on his second-placed finish in 2020.
Curry crowned 3-Point Contest champion
Also taking place before the All-Star Game was the 3-Point Contest, which saw Stephen Curry come out on top for the second time in his career - making him only the seventh multiple winner of the event.
The Golden State Warriors star, whose first 3-Point Contest victory came in 2015, scored 28 points in the final round to beat out the Utah Jazz’s Mike Conley, who got 27.
Simons wins Slam Dunk Contest
Meanwhile, the half-time Slam Dunk Contest went to the Portlan Trail Blazers’ Anfernee Simons, who defeated the New York Knicks’ Obi Toppin the final.
The judges named Simons the winner by a 3-2 vote for a self-lob in which he attempted to kiss the rim, but fell just short.