The NBA All-Star Weekend has taken the spotlight off of the sensation that Jeremy Lin has become. But still, Linsanity was in effect on Friday as it was only Lin that was given a press conference when there were other stars such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant who were also present there.
The Rising Stars Challenge pitted Team Chuck against Team Shaq and Kyrie Irving dominated for Team Chuck in this Rising Stars game with a stellar three point shooting performance which included 8 from beyond the arc and 36 points resulting in a victory for Team Chuck 145-133.
As for the Celebrity game, it was Kevin Durant coaching the West and Dwight Howard coaching for the East. Howard gave us a hilarious impersonation of his Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy before the start of the game. The East had a convincing victory with comedian Kevin Hart getting the MVP honors. Hart wished to share the award with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who exploded in the first half with 15 points and finished the game with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Turning the attention to the Slam Dunk Contest – which used to be something that I would look forward to so much as a kid – it seems to be devoid of any real stardom this time around. Stephen A. Smith pointed out a solution on ESPN's First Take and it involved getting the fans to vote for who should be in the Slam Dunk Contest and he and Skip Bayless agreed that LeBron James has to make at least one appearance in the dunk contest.
Anyway, the real attraction of NBA All-Star Weekend is Sunday night’s NBA All-Star game and I am for sure looking forward to it.