Ronza Anderson Jr.
MC301 Contributor
Thousands of fans, celebrities, and National Basketball Association (NBA) players filed into the city of Toronto, Canada this past weekend for the 65th NBA All-Star Weekend.
There were many events that cultivated into an eventful weekend for all to enjoy. This year’s annual event was historic because it was held out of the United States for the first time.
The week started on Feb. 12 with the celebrity basketball game. The game consisted of celebrities from both the United States and Canada. The head coach for Team Canada was national recording artist Drake, and for the United States, comedian Kevin Hart. The game was full of laughter and fun for all the fans and players in attendance. In the end, Drake got the best of Hart with team Canada winning by the score of 74-64.
Later that night, the NBA showcased some of its future all-stars, with the annual Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Rising Stars game. The game consisted of NBA players that grew up in the United States versus NBA players from other countries. In the end USA downed the World by the score of 157-154, with Zach LaVine again winning MVP.
Eric Hobson, a sophomore biology major from Belleville, Ill. said, “The greatest part about watching the all-star weekend was seeing Kobe Bryant play for the final time in the classic”
On Feb. 13, Toronto hosted the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. The night was filled with amazing dunks, three point shots, and terrific basketball skills. The main event that caught everyone attention for the night was the Verizon Wireless Slam Dunk contest.
It was a very exciting event that had the crowd on its feet for most of the night. The contest came down to Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic. Both contestants had rim rocking dunks that had fans undecided on who should be the winner. However at the end of the night, LaVine had won his second dunk contest in back to back years.
Deion Fields, a senior biology from Chicago, Ill. said, “I really enjoyed the dunk contest this year, everyone had the rim rocking and it was very exciting.”
The main event of the weekend however was Sunday night’s basketball game between the best players of the West versus the best players from the East.
It was a very emotional night because it would be Kobe Bryant’s last appearance in the all-star game. During pre-game introduction, the crowd stood to their feet and shouted Kobe repeatedly! The NBA paid homage to Bryant’s career in the NBA, and so did Magic Johnson, who had played for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a kindly gesture, his team let him do the tip-off against long-time friend and opponent LeBron James. At the end of the game, Bryant finished with 10 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds.
“I had a blast playing with those guys, laughing and joking on the bench. A great, great time,” said Bryant in the post-game interview.
This year’s game set many records. The West squad put up a game record 196 points and both teams combined for the most points ever scored in a game, 369. Also, Indiana Pacers guard Paul George finished the night with 41 points and came within two points of setting the record for most points by a single player in the all-star game.
Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder took home MVP once again for consecutive years.
