Atlanta – After many players including LeBron James expressed their concerns of not having an NBA-All Star game. Sunday night’s events went off without a hitch! The NBA’s best players gathered in Atlanta tonight and put on a show, all of the events took place on one day opposed to a weekend.
Team LeBron James (Western Conference) defeated Team Kevin Durant (Eastern Conference) 170 -150. Stephen Curry returned to NBA All-Star after missing the 2019 NBA All-Star due to injuries. The 2020 NBA All-Star was canceled due to the pandemic. Curry was excited to be back in the mix, he also participated in the 3-point Contest.
In the first round, he the lead all scores with 31 points, Mike Conley and Jason Tatum had the other two highest scores. During the final round, Curry got off to a slow start but picked up pace with his last two racks. It was the final “money” ball that lifted him over Conley’s 27 points to seal the win with an overall 28 points.
Both teams put on an epic show with lobs, dunks and fancy passes. James only played in the first half and sat out the second. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the night with 35 points and was shocked when he won his first NBA-All Star MVP after a perfect performance of 16-for-16 from the field. Last year the NBA announced they will honor the late Kobe Bryant by naming the NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player Award after him.
“My team played great, and I was able to just win it,” Antetokounmpo said. “And to have the trophy with the name of Kobe Bryant, it’s amazing, and I know he would be happy. Yeah, I know he’d be happy.”
Curry was also honored to share the court with James for the first time since he switched teams and conferences. Both James and Curry have been rivals in the past especially during the Golden State Warriors championship run over five years. Curry added 28 points and dazzled with a hanging dunk and proved why he’s the 3-point King.
“Being around this league long enough, obviously the new format with the All-Star Game and mixing and matching conferences, even though he’s in the West now, it was bound to happen, and we had a great time. It was a memorable night for sure,” said Curry on playing with James.
This the first year the NBA honored Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The league raised 3 million in donations for HBCUs and promoted a number of schools as well as honored students who received grants from a variety of players and their local charities. The NBA All-Star court was designed by HBCU artists, the popular marching bands from Florida A&M and Grambling State University performed during the game intros. And the Black National Anthem was performed by Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Society.
Team LeBron raised 1.25 million for the Thurgood Marshall Fund while Team Durant raised $500,000 for the United Negro College Fund. Curry has also donated to the HUBCs, in 2019 Curry committed to funding the Howard University mens and women’s golf team for the next six years. His donation will include golf equipment from Callaway Golf (Curry’s partners), full scholarships for the teams that will begin play when school resumes after the pandemic.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
