An overall successful weekend provided great fan entertainment on a newly-extended All-Star break in the NBA. There are plenty more winners than losers from Valentine's Day weekend in The Association, but several people came out on the wrong end of a great weekend.
Winners
Slam Dunk Contest
The Dunk Contest is officially back. After Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine showcased his athleticism last year, the 20 year-old repeated as champion in 2016. But, while Will Barton and Andre Drummond quickly faded in the early rounds, fellow sophomore, Aaron Gordon came close to stealing the crown from LaVine.
Vince Carter may have said "It's over" back in 2000 and JaVale McGee and Serge Ibaka may have proved it by replacing athleticism with stupid props, but LaVine and Gordon have officially revived it. LaVine even shed the Space Jam jersey and let the light shine on his pure skill. Thanks but no thanks, LeBron James, we have our two contestants for next year's Slam Dunk Contest.
Side note: Cheryl Miller made this harder to watch than it already was.
Zach LaVine
LaVine came home from Toronto with not one, but two pieces of hardware. Prior to being named Slam Dunk Champion last Saturday, LaVine was awarded the MVP award in the Rising Stars Challenge as Team USA edged Team World 157-154 on Friday night.
The second-year man out of UCLA scored 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the game which featured NBA rookies and sophomores. Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay also scored 30, while LaVine's teammate and last year's MVP, Andrew Wiggins, scored 29 in front of his home fans. If LaVine wasn't already on watch from the 2015 Slam Dunk Contest, he is now.
Russell Westbrook
A stat line of 31-8-5-5 landed Westbrook his second straight All-Star Game MVP Award. He became the first player in NBA All-Star history to win consecutive outright MVPs.
After dropping 41 points off the bench in last year's contest, Westbrook followed with another impressive showing, leading a record-setting scoring performance by the Western Conference All-Stars. Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James all failed to tally 30 points. Vicious dunks were abundant and the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard had his fair share. He even got Gregg Popovich to crack a smile.
Klay Thompson
Thompson led off the Three-Point Contest by tallying 22 points in the opening round. With James Harden, J.J. Redick, and Devin Booker each tied at 20, reigning champion Stephen Curry was close to being eliminated.
After missing the first three balls in his final rack, Curry sunk the final two shots of his moneyball rack to advance to the final round with a score of 21. But, after beating Thompson in last year's contest, it was Curry who came up short to his fellow Splash Brother in the 2016 three-point shootout. You would think a score of 23 set the bar high, but Thompson was on fire and scored 27 in the final round to secure the victory.
Karl-Anthony Towns
In a new edition of the NBA Skills Challenge, big man met little man in the final round. Towns cruised past other forwards and centers in Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis, which lined up a meeting with Isaiah Thomas in the finale.
With a foot and three inches separating the two, it was Thomas who had the hot hand after breezing through the guard's bracket. But, in the end, the rookie seven-footer capitalized on a hesitation from Thomas and sunk a three-pointer for the win. The 2016 first overall draft pick was mobbed by the other big men, two of whom were also former Kentucky Wildcats.
Losers
Paul George
A 41-point performance by George not only failed to result in an All-Star Game MVP Award, but also was one point shy of tying Wilt Chamberlain's All-Star Game record. The MVP snub was not a tremendous surprise considering the East lost to the West by 23 points in the 65th NBA All-Star Game.
But it was the Western Conference All-Stars' lockdown D on George that prevented him from passing Chamberlain. The nail in the coffin came on the game's final play, where George was clearly looking to steal the ball from Curry, but was met by his offensive line in Durant
DeMarcus Cousins
It was a rough start to the Skills Challenge for Boogie Cousins. It was to be expected with big men entering the competition and Cousins misplayed the ball right at the start of his first round.
Not many of the forwards and centers were able to pass the ball into the circle, which is probably why they were able to continue after three failed attempts. Boogie was no different and, while he was able to advance to the final round, he ultimately fell at the hands of Towns after failing the passing drill yet again.
Defense
Record-setting offense was a byproduct of absent defense, as is a custom in the All-Star Game. This year's February Classic broke the total scoring record, the West broke the scoring record for a single team and, among other things, the total assists record was also broken. Fans win when the defense is non-existent.
Kevin Hart
After winning his third Celebrity Game MVP and subsequently "retiring" in 2015, Hart moved to the bench to coach in this year's contest.
But an 11-point deficit at halftime was all the comedian needed to suit back up. Handing the coaching duties to Andre Drummond, who was assisted by fellow All-Star and friend of Hart's, Isaiah Thomas, the short funny guy was back on the court in uniform. Hart was of no help to Team USA, who lost to Drake's Team Canada.