G League Osceola Magic G Mac McClung capped NBA All-Star Saturday Night by defending his slam dunk contest title, defeating Celtics F Jaylen Brown in the championship round by using Basketball HOFer Shaquille O'Neal as a "prop for his final dunk." Bucks G Damian Lillard won the 3-point contest for the second consecutive year, burying his final shot to edge Hawks G Trae Young (USA TODAY, 2/17).
Brown received "major kudos and respect for being the first current All-Star to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest in six years.” However, the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd “didn’t appear impressed with his series of dunks,” perhaps because Brown was an established veteran competing against two rookies and a G Leaguer. In his first attempt of the final round, Brown changed into a Terrence Clarke Brewster Academy jersey. Clarke, a Boston native, was considered an NBA prospect after one season at Kentucky before dying in a car crash in April 2021 (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/17). Brown was “booed after nearly every dunk in an apparent sign from fans that they felt his scores were too high for the dunks he executed, especially when compared to McClung” (THE ATHLETIC, 2/17).
Warriors G Stephen Curry and N.Y. Liberty G Sabrina Ionescu “delivered” in an inaugural inter-sex 3-point challenge. The contest “turned out to be a masterclass” and a "display of sportsmanship, grace and mutual respect." The contest was “not just a show of sportsmanship but of philanthropy.” It was "all about positivity, not conflict and animosity,” with Curry and Ionescu "showering each other with praise and respect" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 2/17).
The NBA debuted a glass LED court during this weekend’s All-Star festivities at Lucas Oil Stadium, with the surface using "simple color changes, as well as moving, sliding, evolving graphics, to project the feeling of a court that felt both alive and interactive." The NBA used the high-tech court in a "variety of ways Saturday night, ranging from giving players directions -- and highlighting when they messed up -- during the relay round of the Skills Challenge." It made "changing the center-court logo for each event seamless," and it allowed the league to accentuate Curry and Ionescu’s 3-point competition with "vibrant, high-energy neon colors that matched the energy of Lucas Oil" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/18).
