2012 NBA All-Star Weekend recap

All-Star Game 2012- flickr.com- markomni

The Amway Center in Orlando, Florida was home to the 2012 NBA All-Star Game. From February 24^th- 26^th, the best players of the NBA, both past and present came together to show off their skills. They enjoyed six different contests that were all a good way of leaving the playoff runs for laughs and fun. It was a critical break that had some crazy basketball action, all hosted by Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard.

The weekend kicked off on Friday, February 24, with the Rookie vs. Sophomore game formerly known as the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. Team Shaq coached by Shaquille O’Neal versus Team Chuck coached by Charles Barkley was the showdown. The main event was the New York Knicks newly found star player, Jeremy Lin. The star of the game wasn’t Lin, but a rookie for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving. Irving dominated the game, scoring 34 points and shooting 8-8 from the three-point line. Irving’s Cavaliers teammate, Tristan Thompson, led Team Shaq with 20 points.

Saturday, February 25, showcased specialized skills, ranging from shooting to speed and dunking. The Shooting Stars competition finals came down to Team Texas with ex-Rocket Kenny Smith, rookie Chandler Parsons, Sophia Young and Team New York with Landry Fields, Cappie Pondexter, and one of the greatest sharpshooters of all time, Allan Houston. Team Texas posted a time of 47.6 seconds, but it couldn’t stop Team New York who won with a time of 37.3 seconds.

The Skills Challenge, an obstacle course for the most agile point guards in the league starred defending champ Deron Williams of the Nets, Rajon Rondo, and the Spurs Tony Parker. Tony Parker won with a time of 32.8 seconds.

The action really heated up during the Three Point contest and Slam Dunk Contest. The Three Point Contest came down to Kevin Durant and rebounding monster, Kevin Love. The contest was close, but came down to the last money ball of the tiebreaker for Durant and he missed it to score a 14 whereas Love scored a 16.

The most controversial competition of the weekend was the Slam Dunk Competition. All participants were newcomers to the competition. Chase Budinger finished his three dunks with a spectacular reverse blindfolded dunk to honor homage to Cedric Ceballos. Jeremy Evans finished with a Karl Malone tribute where he jumped over comedian Kevin Hart. This dunk was controversial since Kevin Hart is only 5’ 2”, which isn't an astounding feat for a great leaper.

On Sunday, February 26^th, it was a tale of the conferences to end the All-Star Weekend. The West had star players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant and the East had LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Kevin Durant was the MVP with 34 points and Kobe Bryant earned some fame for passing Michael Jordan to lead all-time scoring in the All Star Game. James ended the night with 36 points and some great dunks, whereas Wade ended with a triple double. One unlikely star was Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, who turned up the heat to score 22 points and picked off James’ pass when the East had a chance to tie. "I can't turn the ball over like that," James said. "I let my team down, but overall it was a great weekend."

The West always had dominated the game, but gave up an 18-point lead. "With all these great players on the floor, you never know what will happen. Guys making big shots and they cut it down to one. We were up 18 [at halftime]," Durant said.

The 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend

All Star 2012- Cinefilo- Flickr

The 2012 All Star Weekend at the Amway Center in Orlando was a spectacular show of the NBA players’ abilities. Kobe Bryant broke Michael Jordan's record for most career All-Star points, while Kevin Durant took home MVP honors. Other players showed their skills in the various challenges that comprise the All-Star Weekend.

 The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference in the All-Star Game 152-149. The West got off to a quick head start and had 88 points by the first half. By the third quarter, things changed and LeBron James hit three three-pointers and cut the West’s lead from 21 to 12. Shortly thereafter, Dwyane Wade’s hard foul of Bryant gave him a nasal fracture. Despite his injury, Bryant then surpassed Michael Jordan’s record of 262 points for most All-Star career points on a dunk and now has 271. By the fourth quarter, Bryant and Russell Westbrook’s great scoring led the West to a victory.

Former Knicks player Allan Houston’s half court shot won Team New York the Shooting Stars Challenge. The team consisted of Houston, WNBA player Cappie Pointdexter, and Knicks player Landry Fields.

Kevin Love beat Durant, Mario Chalmers, Anthony Morrow and others to win the Three Point Shootout. In an amazing performance of ability, Love won two tiebreakers, one with Chalmers and one with Durant, to claim the ultimate victory.

Fan votes named Jeremy Evans winner of the Slam Dunk Contest. The Utah Jazz player started off with a bad play, but then shocked the crowd with his most amazing dunk. Gordon Hayward, a fellow player, sat on a chair and threw two balls in the air. Evans jumped over him and dunked both.

In the Rising Stars challenge, Team Shaq defeated Team Chuck 146-133. Kyrie Irving played phenomenally, showing his skills with an alley-oop to Paul George and several long range shots. He finished with 36 points. Others, though, didn’t play very well. Jeremy Lin, a previous sensation, made only two points. As Team Shaq co-head coach Ron Adams thought, it was an enjoyable game for all. "There were a lot of dunks," he said in an Associated Press article "I think the guys had fun … it was a fun game. Interesting game."

Overall, The All-Star Weekend was an impressive performance of the NBA’s best players.

Little Man in a Big Man's Game

Spud Webb against Manute Bol / Vedia - Flickr

Spud Webb, former Atlanta Hawks' player, was the most unexpected NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner in the history of the NBA. With a 42 inch leap, he managed to beat his team mate Dominique Wilkins in the 1986 contest in Dallas Texas with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round. "I brought back dunks I haven't used since high school," said Webb in a Dallas News interview. His arsenal of dunks included elevator two-handed double pump dunk, the one-handed off the backboard one-handed jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk, a 180-degree reverse double-pump slam, and finally, the 180-degree reverse two-handed strawberry jam with a bounce off of the floor. Webb's small hands and inability to palm the ball did not hinder his performance. It just made him work harder, adding alley-oops or a bounce to each dunk. Winning the Slam Dunk contest was the crowning achievement of his 12 year career.

Webb is currently the third shortest person to ever compete in the NBA, behind Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues and Earl Boykins, and the shortest to ever play in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He later trained New York Knicks 5'9" point guard, Nate Robinson, who eventually won three Slam Dunk Contests. Webb also was a judge for the 2010 Dunk contest in Dallas. It was the first time the event has been in Dallas since his win in 1986. Webb enjoyed his stardom of being and coaching a small man in a big man's game.

Classic Vinsanity

Steve Lipofsky / Wikimedia Commons

Vince Carter is possibly one of the greatest dunk performers ever, performing ferocious dunks with ease. Vince Carter won the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest held in Oakland, California advancing to the first round with 100 points and beating Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady in the finals. What made this dunk contest unique was the fact that there was a NBA lockout in 1999 which prevented that year’s dunk contest from taking place. In 2000 Carter brought back the excitement of the dunk to the crowd. There was no doubt that he would win the contest as audiences were awed by his athletic abilities. He scored 98 points, 7 points higher than second place Francis in the final round. Carter electrified the contest starting with a reverse 360 windmill and kept the momentum going to make the biggest highlight of the night with a between-the-legs dunk off an alley-oop from McGrady.

Carter’s aerial abilities allowed him to make a stepping stone for his career when he won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest. Carter led his team, the Toronto Raptors, into their first playoff in the 2000 NBA playoff. Carter became the Raptors' franchise player and was voted into the All-Star Team starting lineup numerous times. During the 2003 All-Star game he gave up his All-Star spot so franchise great Michael Jordan could participate in his final start as an All-Star. Carter became one of only three players along with Michael Jordan and Julius Erving to lead the NBA All-Star game fan voting on at-least three occasions. Due to injuries and safety reasons, fans never got to see “Vinsanity” perform seemingly impossible dunks in the dunk contest again.