NBA All-Star Weekend 2022 summary: Slam Dunk, 3 Point Contest, stats scores and highlights
All-Star Saturday did not disappoint as some of the NBA’s top talent was on display in the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, and the Dunk Contest.
All-Star Weekend back to it's best
After last year’s All-Star Weekend was abbreviated due to COVID, the league made sure to make up for lost time by bringing the old school All-Star Saturday back, but with a little twist.
The Skills Challenge changed from an individual award to a team contest. The hometown Cavaliers, led by Evan Mobley, won the Challenge after winning the shooting contest in the first round, and then hitting the winning half court shot in the final round to give the crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse something to cheer about.
In the 3-Point contest there were a few extra shots added to the rounds. Sponsor Mountain Dew, added a couple shots from five feet behind the arc worth three points, and as a result we got some sky high scores.
KAT steals the show
LA Clipper Luke Kennard posted 28 in the first round to secure his spot in the final round. Karl-Anthony Towns surprised some by posting a 22 in the first round, and making the final round along with Trey Young.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the biggest underdog coming into the the contest, but used a perfect rack to start his final round to set a new record with 29.
Toppin the top dunker
It must be said, Dunk Contest was a bit of a let down after the last few years. Obi Toppin was crowned champion after Cole Anthony and Jalen Green were eliminated in the first round. That left Juan Toscano-Anderson and Toppin in the final round.
Toppin was the more prepared, and his dunks were more creative, which would have come into play if need be. But both of Toscano’s dunks were a bit disappointing after failing to connect on his first few attempts. That left Toppin with a chance to try the between the legs off the backboard dunk that was enough to win him the Dunk Contest.
All-Star Saturday goes down as a success, despite the let down in the final round of the Dunk Contest, and tomorrow we will wrap it all up with the main event. Team Lebron and Team Durant will tip off at 8 p.m. ET.
Toppin was by far the best dunker of the night and he takes home the Slam Dunk Contest title.
Toppin was no doubt the best dunker in the contest, and you can tell he put the most time into thinking up new dunks to keep things interesting.
It's crazy that this is considered an average dunk in the Slam Dunk Contest these days, but Green made a very difficult dunk look way too easy.
Toppin wins the Dunk Contest!
Toppin got the dunk that he was trying last round. He goes between the legs and off the backboard. He gets a 47 and wins the Dunk Contest in a pretty anti climatic way.
Toscano couldn't get his last dunk to drop, and he essentially hands the trophy over to Toppin who will have no pressure on this last dunk.
Toppin tried what would have been an incredible dunk, but he couldn't drop it and on the third attempt goes with an easier off the back board between the legs dunk. He picks up a 43 to take the lead going into the last dunk.
Toscano looked like he tried to dunk it ala Vince Carter, sticking his arm in the rim, but in the end it looked like a very average dunk. A 38 won't do Toscano much good.
Toppin goes off the backboard goes between the legs the wrong way and finishes it with a 180. The dunk didn't go down with as much force, but Clyde gave him a 10, and he finishes the first round with a 46. He's off to the final with Toscano.
Toscano with a reverse 360 windmill dunk, and that was a safe dunk that gets him a 43, and he's on the way to the final.
Anthony couldn't hit any of the three attempts, not sure how he only got three when Green had like 40 in the last round.
Anthony looks like he might have hurt his hand on one of those dunks, and is eliminated for his troubles.
Green with a reverse 360 between the legs jam and that will get him up the leaderboard with a 45.
Toppin needed three tries, but it was worth the wait.
Green tried to go between the legs off a pass from off the side of the backboard. After about 8 attempts he switched it up and did a windmill alley oop that got him a score of 38
Toscano using a little help from his friend Andrew Wiggins.
Anthony with his opening attempt of the Dunk Contest, with the Timberlands on mind you.
Third time is a charm for Toppin!!! That was a sick dunk, that I have never seen before. Give credit for creativity, and athletic ablilty. If he makes that first time I think it's a 50 no question. Nique gave him a 10, and he winds up with 44.
Obi Toppin is next up. He missed the first dunk, but he jumped over someone and went behind the back. This could be a 50 if he hits it.
Toscano brings out his teammate Andrew Wiggins out and jumps over him while doing a windmill. If I'm being critical, he used Wiggins' shoulder to lift him up, but it was good enough to score a 44 for his first dunk.
Here comes Toscano with his first dunk.
On the third attempt, Anthony connects on the windmill out of his dad's hands. The most impressive thing was the jump with those heavy boots. Anthony gets 40 from the judges, and you have to think there was some time wasting point deductions from the judges.
They said each dunk would have a time limit, but it's been about 10 minutes since the change of shoes.
Cole Anthony is up first and his dad, Greg Anthony brings him a pair of Timberlands to dunk in.
Dominique Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson and Dr. J are the judges for tonight's contest.
These are the contestants of tonight's Slam Dunk Contest. Jalen Green is my favorite, but just ask VanVleet what it's like being my favorite to win.
Luda makes an apperance and got the roar of the night from this crowd. I got to say I like this performance more than the Super Bowl halftime show.
DJ Khaled is headlining the concert before the Dunk Contest. He's had Lil Baby, Migos, Gunna and the Queen Mary J fresh off her Super Bowl performance.
Karl-Anthony Towns shocked everyone with a 29 in the final round to win the 3-Point Contest.
This was Town's first round, and wait until you see his final round in the 3-Point contest.
Anthony-Town just ignited the net in the final round with a 29. What a display for the guy who was the biggest underdog coming into the contest.
Trae Young advances on the last shot, knocking off Patty Mills and his 21 with a two pointer at the buzzer to finish with 22.
Check out the dispay from Kennard in the 3-Point contest
Here comes my pick before the contest started, and I may have put the hex on him. He finishes with just 18, and he is eliminated.
Karl Anthony-Towns comes out firing and finishes with 22 points. He might be one to watch because he barley jumps on his shot, which means he doesn't expend much energy on his shots.
Patty Mills started missing his first five shots, but hit both 3 point Mountain Dew balls and finished with 21 points. He finishes with 32 and is second at the moment.
You sometimes forget what a smooth shooter Zach LaVine is because of his vicious dunks. He started hot from the corner hitting 4 of his first 5, but cooled off the rest of the way. He finishes with 14 points and is eliminated which means he won't become the first ever to win the Dunk Contest and the 3-Point contest.
Kennard just dropped all five balls at the top of the key and ends up with 25!!! The Clippers sharp shooter was on fire, and should have his name locked in the next round.
McCollum goes for 19 in the first round to take the early lead, and now it's Kennard who is up.
Hitting the first shot in these contests is so key. Every shooter steps up to the rack thinking they are going to make every shot they take, and missing that first one is alway a bit deflating.
Bane finishes with 18 points, and that's not a bad start to the comeptition.
Desmond Bane has to be one of the most jacked pure shooters in the league. He's got some pythons for biceps and here he goes to get the 3 point contest started.
Mobley called game on the half court shot to wrap up the Skills Challenge.
Patty MIlls has the best 3 point percentage of the participants in tonight's contest. He's shooting over 44% this season.
Trey Young was booed by the fans here in Cleveland during the intro of the 3-point contest. He's used to that by now, but it's the All-Star weekend. Lighten up Cavs fans.
Bill loves himself some basketball. He always seems to pop up at NBA All-Star Weekend. He's sitting front row for tonight's 3-Point Contest which is about to start.
Mobley is having quite the weekend. He won the Rising Stars game yesterday and hits the winner to seal the Skills Challenge for Cleveland
We've got the 3-Point Contest coming up after the trophy presentation for the Skills Challege. I'm going to give you my dark horse to win. I think VanVleet takes it. The dude is money, and if he gets into a groove it could be trobule for the rest of the competition.
Mobley drops the half court shot with 5.5 on the clock to win it for the Cavs!
That was fun. A different twist to what we are used to, and the home team brings the hardwood home after the first event of All-Star Saturday.
Check out the courtside crew for All-Star Saturday. There are some legends in the house. Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Spike Lee, and Fat Joe are in the building!
The Rookies won 200 points by winning that last round. We have a tie going into the last round between the Bucks and the Cavs.
We have another tie breaker, which will be decided by the first to make a three from the top of the key.
Garland drops his after Thanasis fails to hit, and the Cavs head into the final round still in the mix.
The toughest part of this contest hasn't been the corner three over the Star Wars windmill, it's been the one hander floater from inside the FT line. There have been some low light reel moments between last night and tonight.
The Rookies set the bar at 1:18, and the Bucks brothers couldn't match that. The Cavs are up and have a chacne to take the lead
The Rooks start off the obstacle course portion of the competition, and one of the things that stands out is the windmills in the corner that make the three ball a contested shot. It looks like something out of Star Wars. Must have affected Scotty Parker, who missed all three corner threes.
The Greeks win the passing portion on the tie breaker, earning 100 points after two rounds of the Skills Challenge. There's a tie between the Cavs and the Bucks after two rounds.
Garland and Mobley barely missed in the shooting round of the Skills Challenge.
After the tie, they go to a tie breaker, and in the end it's the Bucks team that wins after the judges rule they had a better passing percentage.
The Cavs team only reach 70 after a brilliant shooting display in the first round.
You could see the rookies bumping into each other moving from side to side, but the Antetokounmpo brothers were a bit more fluid. In the end both teams miraculously end up with 88.
The passing portion is all a bit hectic with each of the three players moving from place to place looiking to hit moving targets all at once. Not sure who is keeping track of scoring, but I'm glad it's not me.
Here are all the contestants from the three teams.
Garland goes off for 23 points, and that puts the Cavs up after the first round. The shooting contest win gives the home team 100 points.
Here we come with the passing portion of the show.
Team Cavs starts up with Allen who hits just 5 points, but Mobley puts on a show afterwards, missing just two shots for a total of 16 points. Mobley is the pride of Cleveland, especially this weekend.
You start to get an idea of where these guys look to shot by the spots they pick. Lots of corner threes and deep balls from the top of the key.
Thanasis didn't make a shot until the very last second, but his buzzer beater was worth 4 points. Team A finishes with 20 points, 12 behind the Rooks.
Alex is up now, and he starts off with a 5 pointer with a bank shot, but makes just three more point in the rest of the 30 seconds.
Giannis starts off Team Antetoukounmpo off with 8 points, and what energy he started with. Sprinting from spot to sport, and the Greeks look like they are going after the title.
Scotty Barnes was ice cold in his round. He ends with just 6 points giving the Rookies 32 after the last round.
Cunningham must have used up all his makes last night in the Rising Stars Tournament. He was MVP after leading Team Barry to the win.
Giddey ends the shooting portion with 16 points from the different spots on the court. Cade Cunningham came out right after and posted a 10.
We are underway from the Rocket Mortgage Field House. It's Josh Giddey who gets things started with this new look Skills Challenge.
The Skills Contest is moments away from starting as the teams are being introduced at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Team Rooks:
Scottie Barnes
Cade Cunningham
Josh Giddey
Team Cavs:
Jarrett Allen
Darius Garland
Evan Mobley
Team Bucks:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Alex Antetokounmpo
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Long Ball Contest
Some of the best shooters in the league will be making it rain at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Trey Young, Patty Mills and CJ McCollum headline the participants competing in the 3-Point Contest. Here is a complete list of contestants:
Desmond Bane, Grizzlies
Luke Kennard, Clippers
Zach LaVine, Bulls
CJ McCollum, Pelicans
Patty Mills, Nets
Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves
Fred VanVleet, Raptors
Trae Young, Hawks
Difference between power dunkers and artists
All dunkers aren’t created equally. Just because you can posterize someone doesn’t mean you are a shoe in to take the Dunk Contest title. Some of the most ferocious dunkers couldn’t cut it at the dunk contest. Guys like Vince Carter and Aaron Gordon give you that perfect mix of power and grace. The guy I’m most excited to watch tonight is Jalen Green. He can get up, but he’s agile enough to work wonders in air.
High Flyers
It’s a young batch of participants for tonight’s Dunk Contest. The number two pick of the 2021 Draft, Jalen Green will look to put on a show after a spectacular show in the Rising Stars tournament. Cole Anthony was had his fair share of highlights last night. Here are all contestants of tonight’s main event.
Obi Toppin (Knicks),
Jalen Green (Rockets),
Cole Anthony (Magic),
Juan Toscano-Anderson (Warriors)
Dunk Contest
We will close out the night with It’s maybe the most anticipated event of the weekend after it was limited to just a half time show last year. Anfrenee Simons won the contest last year, but will not be back to defend his title. We go back to the old school format tonight. That means each of the four contestants will have two dunks in the first round. The two highest combined scores move on to the championship round. The finalists will get two more dunks in the championship round and the highest combined score from that round will be crowned as the Slam Dunk Champion.
Taco Bell Skills Challenge participants
We tip off the night with the Skills Challenge. Instead of individual players competing for the title there will be teams going head-to-head this year. The contestants have been narrowed to three Rookies, three home town Cavaliers, and three reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks
Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Some of the league’s most talented all around players will be in the spotlight from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The challengers will have to go though an obstacle course that include dribbling, passing and shooting.
We are back at Rocket Mortgage Field House
Hello everyone and welcome back to the All-Star festivities. Last year we had a very abbreviated version of All-Star Staturday because of COVID, but this year we are back with full force. Tonight we will celebrate the return to normalcy by celebrating the three highlight events outside of the actual All-Star Game. The Skills Challenge, the 3-point contest and the Slam Dunk contest are back in full force tonight
All-Star Saturday
It’s All-Star Saturday from Cleveland, Ohio! The NBA’s showcase weekend continues as the sharp shooters, high flyers and skill specialists take the court from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. AS English will have you covered with live coverage, stats, and highlights of tonight’s