Overview:

With all-star weekend behind us, the NBA enters the second half of the season, and teams are trying to turn it around heading into the playoffs. For the first time in a while, the all-star game itself actually seemed competitive as some players like Kawhi Leonard and Victor Wembanyama put forth effort in trying to win. There has been major controversy over the last couple years as to if the game was meaningful anymore or if it was becoming like the pro-bowl game in the NFL. Players would joke around, not play defense, and put up bad shots; however, this year for the first time in a while it was exciting. The set up that may have brought out more effort was the three team system: USA stars and USA stripes who both consisted of players from America like Jaylen Brown and Scottie Barnes, the third team was the world team filled with foreign players such as Luka Dončić. This game ended with a victory for the USA stars and an MVP for Anthony Edwards. As for the other games of the weekend, Damian Lillard won another three point contest, and Keshad Johnson won the dunk contest. Actor Rome Flynn won the MVP of the celebrity game as team Giannis took home the win. 

Three Point Contest:

The contest finals finished with Damian Lillard scoring 29 points and Devin Booker scoring 27 points. It came down to the wire as Damian didn’t take the lead over Devin Booker until the last rack of balls. This win was Damian Lillard’s 3rd three point contest that he took home which ties him with NBA legends like Larry Bird. Rookie Kon Kneupel also had a promising performance; he has set multiple rookie records for three point shooting, so it is not surprising he was a player in the contest, and he had a good outing as he almost made the finals. Lillard’s win was additionally special because he has not played in this NBA season as he is recovering from an achilles tendon tear, however, this did not stop him from displaying his magnificent shooting ability.

Dunk Contest:

This year’s dunk contest continues to disappoint fans and critics across the world. The NBA dunked contest used to become a highlight of all-star weekend but, recently the reviews have been on a steady decline. Again this year’s 2026 AT&T Slam Dunk Contest delivered a mixed bag of dunks which saw the Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson emerging as the champion. In a full recap of the contest, as mentioned above Johnson took the trophy home with him, in which he narrowly beat out the San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant in which flashes of athletics were seen but a lack of star power. While Johnson received first, critics and fans were underwhelmed, they claimed the dunks were uncreative, and uninspired. This is also due to the previous years which were star filled with the likes of Blake Griffin, Aaron Gordon, Vince Carter, and Zach Levine. These jaw dropping dunks left a maybe irreplaceable mark on the contest in which the creativeness and explosiveness of these dunks are irreplaceable. There was a brief moment where every fan held their breath, during a dunk attempt from Orlando Magic’s Jase Richardson came crashing down on the back of his head after a collision with the backboard.

Celebrity Game:

This year the Celebrity game included multiple former NBA players like Tacko Fall, Jeremy Lin, and Jason Williams. These players were obviously significantly better than anyone else out there as Tacko Fall had 20 plus points and rebounds. Rome Flynn took home the MVP award as he had 17 points which is very impressive out of someone who did not formerly play in the league. Furthermore, NFL player Keenan Allen kept the game close for Team Anthony as he led his team in scoring despite the loss. 

Durant Files:

During All Star Weekend there were a few leaks of videos and texts across the NBA from big name stars. The likes of Micheal Jordan, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant all had controversial uncoverings during the weekend. Mainly was Kevin Durant the Houston Rocket who was leaked through Twitter group chats slandering his former and current teammates. There are currently 34 files leaked on “The KD Files” website. This ranges from his old days on the Warriors to his current days as a Houston Rocket. This is a huge problem as he is currently

Jabari Smith Jr:

Jabari was drafted in 2022 as the third overall pick out of Auburn University to the Houston Rockets. In a podcast interview earlier this summer, Jabari spoke about his idolization of Kevin Durant and stated he wanted to emulate his game after him. In a direct quote Jabari states “he was my favorite player growing up”. When Kevin Durant joined the Houston Rocket’s, he followed Kevin Durant around like a “puppy dog” and even asked the Houston Rocket’s staff to parallel him and Durant’s schedules. So we have to imagine the impact it has on not only the team chemistry but the twenty-two year old who has to witness things his idol has talked down on him about. Some of these quotes are too vulgar for our school newspaper but, I recommend y’all do research on this. I can give some of these quotes from Durant- in 2024 he stated