The Ringer - Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend2019-02-19T16:04:40-05:00http://www.theringer.com/rss/stream/179901402019-02-19T16:04:40-05:002019-02-19T16:04:40-05:00‘The Mismatch’: Stories From NBA All-Star Weekend
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<p>Our hosts had an eventful time in Charlotte over All-Star Weekend, and they’re here to share some notable highlights</p> <p id="slM8Dv"><a href="https://art19.com/shows/the-ringer-nba-show/episodes/59dc1c28-769d-47d7-8428-73f16756e9eb">Our hosts had an eventful time in Charlotte over All-Star Weekend</a>, and they’re here to share some notable highlights.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/2019/2/19/18232287/the-mismatch-stories-from-nba-all-star-weekendChris VernonKevin O'Connor2019-02-19T14:41:26-05:002019-02-19T14:41:26-05:00‘NBA Desktop’: NBA All-Star Weekend Bonanza
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<p>On a special All-Star edition, the crew heads to Charlotte. Jason discusses Michael Jordan’s jeans, partakes in a push-up contest, and witnesses a majestic Woj in the wild.</p> <p id="o3SgSF">On a special All-Star edition of <em>NBA Desktop</em>, the crew heads to Charlotte. Jason discusses Michael Jordan’s jeans, partakes in a push-up contest, and witnesses a majestic Woj in the wild. Plus, spice from <em>The Ringer</em>’s Bill Simmons and NBA All-Star Joel Embiid.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/2019/2/19/18232155/nba-desktop-nba-all-star-weekend-bonanzaJason Concepcion2019-02-18T08:07:33-05:002019-02-18T08:07:33-05:00All-Star Weekend Buzz, the Ludicrous A.D. Saga, and a Surprising Knicks Scoop With Ryen Russillo
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<p>Bill Simmons is joined by Ryen Russillo to talk NBA All-Star Weekend, some interesting angles in the Anthony Davis situation, and more</p> <p id="DKK5KO"><a href="https://art19.com/shows/the-bill-simmons-podcast/episodes/e0bc97de-a281-4299-b479-2229d0dd3513">Bill Simmons is joined by Ryen Russillo</a> to talk NBA All-Star Weekend, some interesting angles in the Anthony Davis situation, NBA ownership, titillating Knicks buzz, All-NBA front-runners, and more.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2019/2/18/18229161/all-star-weekend-buzz-ludicrous-anthony-davis-saga-surprising-knicks-scoop-with-ryen-russilloBill Simmons2019-02-16T23:59:25-05:002019-02-16T23:59:25-05:00The Winners and Losers of All-Star Saturday Night
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<p>Hamidou Diallo saved an otherwise lackluster dunk contest, while the Currys and Kemba Walker had different experiences as All-Star hosts in Charlotte</p> <aside id="Bktlyk"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18226099/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2019-nba-all-star-weekend"}]}'></div></aside><p id="xLu2z6"><em>Hamidou Diallo, Joe Harris, and Jayson Tatum took home the trophies in Charlotte for the dunk contest, 3-point contest, and skills challenge, respectively. But the biggest winners and losers of All-Star Saturday Night go beyond the competitions. Here are our picks.</em></p>
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<h3 id="JSyBn1">Winner: Hamidou Diallo</h3>
<p id="ML5tmS">Pain shouldn’t factor into how impressive a dunk is, but there’s something about the Vince Carter elbow hang that makes you ooh and ahh and wince all at the same time. Diallo did his own interpretation of that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqfMmP9NPvg">famous Carter dunk</a> on Saturday, and won the contest in that moment. He began with a number of unavoidably corny dunk contest add-ons: Diallo ripped open his Oklahoma City jersey pre-dunk to reveal a Superman logo and he called Shaq from the stands in order to jump over him. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"SUPERMAN IS IN THE BUILDING!" <a href="https://twitter.com/hamidoudiallo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hamidoudiallo</a> WITH THE ELBOW DUNK OVER SHAQ. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> <a href="https://t.co/w7VB0Nw2UR">pic.twitter.com/w7VB0Nw2UR</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1096971616586592256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2019</a>
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<p id="LhNqib">Calling himself Superman wasn’t tacky once the dunk all came together. Look at Diallo hanging on the rim, five seconds after he rammed his forearm through the net, opening his jersey to reveal the logo. He is Superman. He’s whoever the hell he wants to be in that moment—a mix of superhuman and Vince Carter and, most importantly, the one redeeming contestant in 2019’s dunk contest.</p>
<h3 id="jK9Wdf">Loser: Dunk Contest Scoring</h3>
<p id="vwY7pt">I’m a millennial. I could power a windmill rolling my eyes at older generations complaining about people my age “needing participation trophies.” Yet there’s the dunk contest, dunking on every millennial who insists the world isn’t in the midst of a participation-trophy crisis. Hamidou Diallo was, unquestionably, the winner, and he was awarded as such. But what happened before and after Diallo’s dunk was a judging travesty. </p>
<p id="Bvw7Hx">Dennis Smith Jr. took three attempts to complete his first dunk, which was probably worth a score of 40 if it was made on the first try: </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">DSJ elevates and gets 45 from the judges! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> <a href="https://t.co/yez7AStwM4">pic.twitter.com/yez7AStwM4</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1096967251951931392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2019</a>
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<p id="uL2TCi">Smith was given nines across the board for 45 total points after taking a five-minute warm-up. John Collins <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEjqg46tHfQ">broke the wing of the airplane</a> he brought out to jump over—a literal representation of flying—for his second dunk, and still scored a 42. Gimmicks are bad. Breaking the gimmick is worse, especially when it is a symbol of your ability to soar. Smith made his next attempt, a high-flying jumpman over a seated J. Cole, on the second try. That’s now three total misses. He was given a perfect 50. It was admittedly impressive, and there are many, many folks out there who can appreciate a guy who dunked on J. Cole, but he still missed, and the dunk itself wasn’t a 50 to begin with. He made it to the final round despite all the misses, because he’s in New York now, and that’s how it works for non-millennials’ other favorite gripe, coastal elites. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="UpRvQk"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Five Things to Look Forward to During NBA All-Star Weekend","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18225545/all-star-weekend-preview-look-forward"},{"title":"What Was the Worst NBA Slam Dunk Contest Attempt of All Time?","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18226272/worst-slam-dunk-contest-attempt-nba-history"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="Jfuthi">Smith never made his penultimate dunk despite multiple tries. Straight sevens. Then it took Smith five attempts to connect on his final dunk, which involved Steph Curry lobbing the ball and jumping over Dwyane Wade. Two greats don’t necessarily make for a great dunk, and five attempts absolutely doesn’t make for a high score. Except Smith received a perfect 50—on a dunk that took more tries than Diallo had in total on the night. Call it soft, call it rigged, call it an inevitable repercussion from the participation-trophy generation. For one night, I can’t argue.</p>
<h3 id="fVknzM">Loser: The Currys</h3>
<p id="I2zLaO">It’s homecoming weekend for the Curry family, who, in addition to their many Charlotte ties, have the same amount of representatives in All-Star activities (Steph and Seth) as the entire Hornets organization (Kemba Walker and Miles Bridges). The brothers grew up in Charlotte, as dad Dell played 10 seasons in white and teal; both went to Charlotte Christian for prep school, and both played college ball in North Carolina (Steph went to Davidson, while Seth finished at Duke). Steph and Seth were both in the 3-point contest, giving the Curry family double the odds of taking home the trophy. The numbers were also on their side: Seth is shooting 46.5 percent from deep this season, third-best in the league, and Steph (44.4 this season) is the greatest shooter in NBA history. But it also gave the family double the odds of failing, thus double the odds of embarrassment. </p>
<aside id="akvZvj"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"“It Was All About Money”: An Oral History of the 1998-99 NBA Lockout","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/14/18222040/lockout-1998-99-season-david-stern-david-falk-billy-hunter-patrick-ewing-michael-jordan-oral-history"}]}'></div></aside><p id="0vpas2">Seth didn’t make it out of the first round, finishing with the third-worst total. Steph advanced to the second round in true Steph style, hitting 19 straight 3s between the finish of the first round and the start of the second. But he was ultimately beat out by Joe Harris. The Curry parents didn’t have to worry about which son to cheer for. Instead, the entire Curry fam had to deal with something they aren’t used to: losing. </p>
<h3 id="ZVECiX">Winner: Kemba Walker</h3>
<p id="vRuyPT">As far as nightlife goes, a weekend in Charlotte doesn’t bring quite the same excitement for players as the two previous All-Star Weekends, in Los Angeles and New Orleans. (They’ll try the barbeque and change their tune.) But the location is a win for Kemba Walker. Walker has been hidden in a small market throughout his eight-season career with the Hornets. Underrating a player is easier when he’s not on national TV, and that lack of visibility can limit opportunities—like, ironically, All-Star. Walker has been voted an All-Star three times in total, but never as a starter until this year. And though he’s deserving, the fact that the host city is his—and that there aren’t any other Hornets who qualify—probably gave him a push in voting. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="I0AEVl">Walker’s four-year, $48 million contract will expire at the end of the season. The deal’s been a massive bargain for Charlotte, which will finally have to pay up if it wants to keep Walker away from the rest of the league. A little shine for the 28-year-old during All-Star is like backpay for the small contract and the small-market exposure: His Instagram is flooded with advertisements, he’s the representative of the entire event, and he was brought out to open Saturday night’s festivities. He didn’t make it out of the first round of the 3-point contest later in the night, but he’ll be in the spotlight again when he hits unrestricted free agency. All-Star is a perfect appetizer.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/16/18228090/the-winners-and-losers-of-all-star-saturday-nightHaley O'Shaughnessy2019-02-15T12:06:18-05:002019-02-15T12:06:18-05:00What Was the Worst NBA Slam Dunk Contest Attempt of All Time?
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<p>The dunk contest us has brought us memorable acts of creativity and athleticism. It has also brought equally memorable failures. Let’s determine which attempt is the worst in the competition’s history. </p> <p id="dJfQCh">So, you’ve clicked on a link promising to tell you about the worst dunks in the history of the NBA slam dunk contest. I know what that means: You want to see Chris “Birdman” Andersen take 15 attempts to throw down two dunks in 2005:</p>
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<p id="Cz4orE">But I can’t categorize Andersen’s dunks as the worst in the competition’s history. That’s less about Andersen and more about the many changes in format the contest has undergone in its 35 years of existence. In some contests, participants had one opportunity to make a dunk. In others, they were given time limits or the choice to replace one miss with a second effort. Andersen’s performance came during an unfortunate period when players were allowed to take as long as they wanted to complete a dunk. Andersen pushed that rule to its logical limit: The dunks were fine; it was the format that was at fault.</p>
<p id="27Maj9">Or perhaps you clicked on this link expecting to see Darrell Armstrong’s reverse layup in 1996:</p>
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<p id="2Eqayx">Again, I blame the format. See, Armstrong competed during the era when contestants were given 90 seconds to complete three dunks. The 6-foot-1 guard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCqwoZmO7Eo">started strong</a>, but tired over the first 85 seconds while trying to complete dunks that required lots of sprinting. As the clock ticked toward zero, Armstrong ran at the hoop with every intention of completing his final dunk. But he didn’t have the legs. Instead, he flicked the ball off the glass and into the basket, hoping to earn some points. This reflects poorly on the system, not the dunker. (Or layer-upper.) While I can laugh at Andersen and Armstrong, I don’t think either had the worst dunk attempt of all time.</p>
<p id="RkzIEs">The dunk contest is perhaps my favorite sporting event of the year. It’s an opportunity for players to think up the most innovative ways to display their athleticism, filled with moments of genius. Take 2008, when Gerald Green realized the coolest way to show how close he could get his head to the basket was to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYIgGyDkTQQ">blow out a candle</a> in a cupcake that was sitting on the rim. And just as entertaining are the uninspired failures by contestants who aren’t athletic or creative enough to do anything interesting. I cherish awful dunk contest dunks and have created my own scoring system to recognize the worst.</p>
<p id="wMnuvV">I’m grading each dunk attempt on a scale of 1 to 50, with 50 being the worst. Here are the four categories:</p>
<p id="RTJxU2"><strong>Degree of Ease (10 points): </strong>Many grading systems incorporate degree of difficulty. To find the worst dunk, we must seek out the opposite: Which dunk is the easiest to pull off? Points are awarded to the doofuses (doofi?) who showed up and just did regular-ass dunks.</p>
<p id="VMdPuc"><strong>Lack of Creativity (10 points): </strong>Some players create elaborate plans for their dunks. What I’m looking for are those who treated the dunk contest like an exam for which they forgot to study. Points are awarded to the player who got on a plane to go to All-Star Weekend, realized he hadn’t prepared to be part of a nationally televised dunking competition, and still decided to sleep through the flight instead of coming up with any schemes.</p>
<p id="3X1fsK"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (20 points): </strong>Showmanship is everything at the dunk contest. A perfect score of 50 is only given to contestants who manage to convince the crowd they’ve just thrown down a perfect 50. This category is split into two parts: I’ll award 10 points based on how unexcited players are with their own dunks, and 10 points based on how bored onlookers seem to be by a given dunk. (Shots of disappointed NBA players in attendance are a major plus.)</p>
<p id="CkDBvn"><strong>Lack of Execution (10 points): </strong>It’s not enough to throw down a simple dunk with no gimmicks while making judges and fans yawn. A truly awful dunk isn’t just easy, uninventive, and boring. It also has to be botched.</p>
<p id="9kNUIw">Without further ado, here are the five worst dunks in NBA slam dunk contest history. (Honorable mentions: <a href="https://youtu.be/RpGjqAw4uNk?t=48">Shannon Brown doing a generic alley-oop</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/50yogDE5v4w?t=32">Doug Christie kicking a weird backward punt before doing a normal dunk</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/G0ZkfFBdG-I?t=190">Tim Perry dunking slightly to the left of his head</a>.)</p>
<h3 id="qm2t8H">5. Mason Plumlee Almost Clears Miles Plumlee (2015): 33 Points</h3>
<p id="drYXFZ">Let’s start off with a completely forgettable dunk. Six-foot-11 guys have to do something unique to secure a spot in the contest. But being unique is hard for the Plumlee brothers, all of whom are identical spores taken from an ur-Plumlee created when Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski cut off one of his fingers and planted in it in the ground. Mason Plumlee highlighted this difficulty by bringing out one of his 10,000 identical siblings and poorly re-creating a dunk contest classic.</p>
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<p id="bvPqvQ"><strong>Degree of Ease: 4</strong></p>
<p id="fZhV8g">Hypothetically, it should be tough to dunk while leaping over a 6-foot-11 person. That said, Plumlee chose the easiest method of achieving that feat. Other dunkers have completed alley-oops, gone through the legs or behind the back, or thrown down reverses while dunking over other people. Plumlee just went with a plain, one-handed throwdown.</p>
<p id="oMU6Gs"><strong>Lack of Creativity: 7</strong></p>
<p id="vRD8RW">Several other contestants have dunked over people, and while some picked human hurdles with meaningful backstories—like when Nate Robinson dunked over Spud Webb in 2006, or when Gerald Green dunked over Nate Robinson in 2007—Plumlee chose to dunk over his brother Miles. I could not be less interested in a Plumlee brother reminding us of the thousands of other Duke Plumlee brothers.</p>
<p id="wilz5z"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Fans): 6</strong></p>
<p id="03AiYa">I think Plumlee’s inclusion in the dunk contest was designed to rev up the hometown crowd in Brooklyn, where he was playing at the time. But the Nets don’t even get much fan enthusiasm for Nets games. Plumlee briefly attempted to hype up the crowd; the fans were not interested.</p>
<p id="J0YBk7"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Player): 10</strong></p>
<p id="VBnVVh">This isn’t the funniest or least impressive dunk in the history of the contest, but my goodness, it might set a record for worst reaction by the dunker. Mason no-sells the dunk. Miles gives a polite clap to his brother. And most embarrassing of all, Mason attempts to give Miles a high-five while Miles goes for dap:</p>
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<p id="ULNsgn">This is the sort of handshake confusion that happens when a 47-year-old advertising agent has a business meeting with a 22-year-old musician. How in the world does this happen between two brothers, who lived in the same house, attended the same college, and play in the same basketball league?</p>
<p id="lDMty8"><strong>Lack of Execution: 6</strong></p>
<p id="D3myUJ">Dunking over his 6-foot-11 brother would have been impressive, but Mason doesn’t quite clear Miles. Even though Miles notably leans forward for the dunk, taking a solid 4 or 5 inches off his height, Mason still needs to push off Miles’s back to get over the top. Even with a slouching brother and a push-off, he doesn’t make it over cleanly. There’s a ton of leg-to-shoulder and crotch-to-head contact. </p>
<p id="DrA2tz">It’s bad enough that this dunk was a retread, done to death by more talented dunkers than Plumlee. But worst of all, Mason dragged his nuts over his brother’s skull on national television.</p>
<h3 id="LCfzQJ">4. Michael Finley’s Cartwheel (1997): 35 Points</h3>
<p id="lRZx0x">Finley<strong> </strong>didn’t try a cool dunk. Instead, he invented a sort of dunk biathlon, in which he performed a task completely unrelated to dunking and then dunked. He didn’t do a particularly good job of either.</p>
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<p id="iFNlhu"><strong>Degree of Ease: 9</strong></p>
<p id="C6Ra5L">Finley does two things here. First, he does a cartwheel, which elementary school phys-ed students have been doing since the introduction of gym mats. Next, he attempts a routine dunk—not one in which he jumps high, or puts the ball between his legs—just a dunk. Finley seemed to think doing these two things together made them interesting. His logic was flawed. </p>
<p id="qAzYRI"><strong>Lack of Creativity: 6</strong></p>
<p id="WTfREc">Again, Finley attempts a regular old dunk. There is also a cartwheel attached to this, for some reason.</p>
<p id="o0g4CY"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Fans): 6</strong></p>
<p id="q8cufF"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Player): 4</strong></p>
<p id="HskQvN">I’ll give Finley this: The cartwheel got everybody fired up. Sure, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9whTz94UFE&feature=youtu.be&t=143">everybody was laughing at him</a>, but people were excited, at least. </p>
<p id="MWf8tF"><strong>Lack of Execution: 10</strong></p>
<p id="D0UB02">First of all, Finley’s cartwheel is one of the worst in recorded history. I think the defining element of a cartwheel is how vertical one’s body gets. I don’t think Finley’s legs ever go higher than parallel to the ground. His cartwheel looks like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLQiAqc1MI8">all the falling pandas in this video of falling pandas</a>. His body seems too clumsy to realize that gravity might affect it. Then he misses the totally regular dunk he was supposed to complete after the cartwheel. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="oytnhq"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Five Things to Look Forward to During NBA All-Star Weekend","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18225545/all-star-weekend-preview-look-forward"},{"title":"“It Was All About Money”: An Oral History of the 1998-99 NBA Lockout","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/14/18222040/lockout-1998-99-season-david-stern-david-falk-billy-hunter-patrick-ewing-michael-jordan-oral-history"},{"title":"Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18226099/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2019-nba-all-star-weekend"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="VI145x">What makes this dunk so special is that it should’ve been stopped even if Finley were good at doing cartwheels. He should have told somebody his concept, and that person should have responded, “Hey, Mike, great idea, but maybe try doing a cool dunk instead of doing a pre-dunk trick and then a regular dunk?” But Finley absolutely sucked at doing cartwheels. That same person should have seen Finley practice this dunk and said, “Hey, Mike, again, great idea, but your cartwheel looks like my 6-year-old accidentally mistook Fireball for apple juice and got dangerously drunk before gymnastics practice. You really shouldn’t do this.” </p>
<p id="o96N1z">Nobody stopped Finley, and bad dunking history was made.</p>
<h3 id="6wJ6Kz">3. Allan Houston Goes Off the Head (1994): 36 Points</h3>
<p id="MmmMfy">Houston should not have been in the dunk contest. Anyone who remembers his career remembers him as a shooter, not as a high flier. But shortly before the 1994 contest, reigning champion Harold Miner suffered a back injury, so in stepped Houston. With little prep time and perhaps even less dunking ability, Houston put together a dull routine, capping it off with some comic relief:</p>
<div id="iiXhkl"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ah1dAEgceZU?rel=0&start=76" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="4OBAh0"><strong>Degree of Ease: 10</strong></p>
<p id="2sFO8N">In 2005, Amar’e Stoudemire got a 50 for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opYTM7f2Lv4">one of the more logistically difficult dunks of all time</a>. He passed the ball so that it bounced off the backboard directly to the head of his teammate Steve Nash. Nash, a former soccer player, headed the ball back to Amar’e, who slammed it home.</p>
<p id="3HyH7K">If Nash looked like a professional soccer player delivering an accurate header, Houston looks like a sea lion booping a balloon at the aquarium. Then, after the booping, the dunk is extremely basic. As with Finley’s, this is a completely normal dunk preceded by an unimpressive physical activity.</p>
<p id="qTu1iG"><strong>Lack of Creativity: 8</strong></p>
<p id="p7ewkZ">Houston basically just freestyled out there. All three of his dunks in 1994 were based on doing something random before the dunk, then throwing down a light, straightforward jam. The head boop was the dumbest pre-dunk activity, as well as the most straightforward jam.</p>
<p id="LRyrYe"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Fans): 7</strong></p>
<p id="TOCzCz">Again, Houston mainly succeeded in making people laugh at him. Here are some faces of players during the first few dunks of his routine:</p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qRO3VBTkzZdANEavkkJRF9ow9L8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13765919/download__6_.jpeg">
</figure>
<p id="Aw0tjI">And here they are after the boop:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/65ZBqSrtXU2eTCPhIU1NTtylKFA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13765940/ezgif.com_optimize__17_.gif">
</figure>
<p id="hza1ig"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Player): 5</strong></p>
<p id="ecVlZI">Houston tried his best to make this dunk look cool by hanging on the rim and kicking out his legs afterward. It didn’t work.</p>
<p id="ZNxFDt"><strong>Lack of Execution: 6</strong></p>
<p id="8pNLmU">Houston doesn’t bounce the ball particularly high off his head, nor does he bounce it in the direction of the hoop. This probably could’ve been done in one fluid motion—boop, jump, catch, dunk—but Houston needed to track the ball off his head, catching it while practically still on the ground. </p>
<h3 id="74H8jl">2. Nick Anderson Touches His Head (1992): 37 points</h3>
<p id="cfsmGP">There’s no good story with this one. It’s just a guy touching his head while dunking. If we’re memorializing lack of ambition and inventiveness, this is the all-time champion:</p>
<div id="vjzuAf"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75.0019%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PwurX7dEmsM?rel=0" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="o3FuJY"><strong>Degree of Ease: 10</strong></p>
<p id="IBnY1M">The gist of this dunk is that Anderson runs his hand through his hair while dunking. That’s it. The announcer somewhat optimistically theorizes that Anderson was covering his eyes, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etvk0lv7fqY">Dee Brown had the year before</a>. But the video (<a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nick-anderson-of-the-orlando-magic-dunks-the-ball-during-news-photo/822341392">and much clearer photo evidence</a>) reveals that Anderson wasn’t blocking his vision. (The lone YouTube video of this dunk is titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwurX7dEmsM">“Nick Anderson Blindfold Dunk 1992</a>.” If whoever runs the Pro Hoops Daily account is reading this, I humbly request that this is changed.) </p>
<p id="xJC7Mg"><strong>Lack of Creativity: 10</strong></p>
<p id="vOGrLs">I cannot stress this enough: This is just a completely standard dunk, except Anderson briefly rubs his head while dunking. He didn’t even pat his belly.</p>
<p id="q9Ck5H"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Fans): 4</strong></p>
<p id="h5GFOZ"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Player): 8</strong></p>
<div class="c-float-right"><div id="AKoHJ7"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/6QXZceN8hH76gA4B8YCW3E" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 232px;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="9yD7mK">The crowd gets excited about this dunk, with an instant reaction shot cutting to one fan holding up a “10” sign and another fan enthusiastically clapping. The only explanations for this are (a) the crowd also thinking that Anderson somehow covered his eyes, or (b) the crowd being ready to cheer for Anderson no matter what, since the event was held in Orlando that year, when Anderson was on the Magic. Just three years earlier, this city had no pro sports teams; I can’t blame Orlandoans for being happy to explode with joy for a guy dunking a basketball while rubbing his head. </p>
<p id="q5ADVA">Anderson seems pleased with himself, too. I think it’s possible that he just really liked his haircut and was proud to show it off.</p>
<p id="sFti6Q"><strong>Lack of Execution: 5</strong></p>
<p id="pZwLnq">Touching your head while dunking is extremely easy for most NBA players. I’m giving him a 5 even if I don’t think Anderson could’ve dunked while touching his head much better.</p>
<h2 id="mSjNtn">1. Baron Davis’s Blindfold Misadventure (2001): 50 points</h2>
<p id="E3TBoU">The first four dunks are all from early rounds of the competition. The dunkers weren’t good and didn’t have good ideas, thus resorting to easy and/or boring dunks they still couldn’t pull off. This last one, though, is the story of a would-be dunk champion who literally slammed his hopes of winning into the ground. </p>
<p id="ZEqqcD">Davis could’ve won the 2001 contest by getting a score of 46 or higher on his final dunk. Instead, he did this:</p>
<div id="MtJ904"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75.0019%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bg3DS_w9vBs?rel=0" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="Mo7W8d">Davis received a 32. (Somehow, this was two points higher than the minimum score of 30. Someone interview Julius Erving and Danny Ainge about why they thought Davis aimlessly hurling a ball nowhere near the rim was worth seven points instead of six.) Desmond Mason won the contest. </p>
<p id="QyDdmV">I have spent more time thinking about this Davis miss than I have spent thinking about any NBA Finals ever. It is, by leaps and bounds, the worst dunk in the history of the contest.</p>
<p id="Bmsd4E"><strong>Degree of Ease: 2</strong></p>
<p id="AVRSFS">Davis attempts the most difficult dunk in the history of the sport—a dunk during which he genuinely could not see the rim. </p>
<p id="mzKmyn">He was inspired by Cedric Ceballos, who won the 1992 competition (the same one in which Anderson rubbed his head) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hksRVXsyQtM">with a perfect 50</a>, scored on a dunk that required him to run three-quarters of the court and dunk while blindfolded. It’s obvious to anybody with any critical-thinking skills that Ceballos could see through his blindfold. He changed directions at the free throw line because his initial run-up angle was misaligned from the rim—a decision he could not have made if he couldn’t see. Perhaps most damningly, he tilted his head upward toward the rim when preparing to dunk, keeping his eye level focused on the rim. Because he could see the rim. </p>
<p id="bzrvJe">Davis could not. It turns out dunking without sight is almost impossible.</p>
<p id="XwByB2"><strong>Lack of Creativity: 10</strong></p>
<p id="jap3YD">It’s bad enough that this was a carbon copy of a dunk from a previous dunk contest. But what seals the lack of creativity crown is that Davis apparently didn’t think through the logistics. He either assumed that Ceballos had really been blindfolded in 1992 and that dunking without vision was easy, or he wanted to cheat and failed. After all, we can see the slits in Davis’s headband—Kenny Smith nearly busts a lung laughing about them on the broadcast—but Davis wasn’t wise enough to cheat successfully. </p>
<p id="l3mIfz"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Fans): 8</strong></p>
<p id="zPeKDK">I’m not sure they were bored—stunned? confused?—but it definitely wasn’t a good thing.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kvl7I0mZQAStE14Gr9WEAKJs-k8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13765948/ezgif.com_optimize__18_.gif">
</figure>
<p id="9Jx86R"><strong>Lack of Enthusiasm (Player): 10</strong></p>
<p id="n3eJN7">Davis’s post-dunk reactions are perhaps the most baffling part of this entire baffling experience. At first, he seems genuinely surprised that he’s missed. Next, he turns to his dunk partner, Charlotte teammate David Wesley, to confess that he really couldn’t see through the blindfold. My guy: We know. When interviewed by Craig Sager, Davis sheepishly explains that Wesley was supposed to stop him if the dunk was going poorly. My guy: Of course it was going poorly. </p>
<p id="FF3ZYk">And now is where we add some Ceballosesque 20/20 hindsight to the situation. In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1478790402166269">2017 interview with <em>The Starters</em></a>, Davis said that the missed dunk was all part of his plan. He wanted to miss a dunk attempt first to trick the crowd into thinking he couldn’t see, then make a dunk to win the contest. But after chucking the ball into the ground, dunk contest officials told him he couldn’t have another try. (Davis muddled the situation by admitting he was surprised that he couldn’t see, suggesting that perhaps the hypothetical second dunk would not have been a success.)</p>
<p id="M8PqaD">If Davis’s master plan to win the contest was actually foiled by over-literal enforcement of rules nobody cares about, why didn’t he protest? He just goes back to the bench with an “aw, shucks!” attitude. He’s so chill about the whole thing. That does kind of check out, because Baron Davis is a top-10 all-time Chill Dude. But still: Why not protest even a little? Davis’s “aw, shucks!” demeanor about his failure is hilarious if he really thought he could make the dunk, and confusing if he had a grand plan.</p>
<p id="KgfvaJ"><strong>Lack of Execution: 20</strong></p>
<p id="DIYevg">I’m giving Davis two perfect 10s for lack of execution. Because whether taken on face value or given the context, this was horrendously done.</p>
<p id="if9R1x">Judging this solely as a dunk, it is the worst attempt in the history of the contest, or the league as a whole. The broadcast view, shot from behind Davis, doesn’t show how much he missed by. Here’s a profile view grabbed by Got ‘Em Coach:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
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</figure>
<p id="DCU9GJ">Davis misses the rim by, what, four feet? He wasn’t even dunking in the right direction. On a literal level, this is the worst dunk contest dunk ever, because it was the least accurate of all time. It might also be the only dunk contest dunk to miss the entire basket-backboard-stanchion apparatus.</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><div id="cFCXQs"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/3g1AkIXD65yzdKZF5BKXtg" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 232px;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="0B9zw9">And as a gag, Davis’s dunk is somehow even more embarrassing. I accept three possible interpretations of what happened. The first is that Davis genuinely believed Ceballos could not see, and thought his feat would be easy to replicate. The second is that Davis was trying to fool everybody by cutting eye holes in his blindfold, but couldn’t see through the holes, and went ahead with the dunk anyway. I can’t think of a better example of lack of execution than trying to cheat and failing.</p>
<p id="2jL9LP">But even if we accept Davis’s interpretation of what happened, he still should have done better. If his plan was to do one bad dunk to trick the crowd and then do one amazing dunk to win the contest … shouldn’t he have explained that to somebody? Players now bring out cars, musical acts, and entire baskets—stuff that obviously has to be approved by the league in advance. Davis couldn’t have had somebody OK his ruse? Or at least checked whether a second dunk attempt would be allowed? </p>
<p id="ANMK5g">One of these explanations suggests Davis was gullible, another that he was stupid, and the third that he was merely ill-prepared. It’s possible he was all three. I don’t know which is the worst, or which is the most accurate—but we don’t need to know. By any standard, this was the worst NBA Slam Dunk Contest dunk attempt of all time, the sort of glorious failure that makes the event one of the most entertaining in the sports world. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="Xt6JAu">You can have your players lifting up trophies. I’ll take Davis hurling a basketball into the ground nowhere near the vicinity of a rim. There’s always an explanation for how and why players achieved great successes; I will spend the rest of my life parsing the reasoning behind Davis’s disaster.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18226272/worst-slam-dunk-contest-attempt-nba-historyRodger Sherman2019-02-15T06:30:00-05:002019-02-15T06:30:00-05:00Five Things to Look Forward to During NBA All-Star Weekend
<figure>
<img alt="A collage of 2018-19 NBA All-Stars, including LeBron James" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uGq6F47lF8u8Yfid7ThqjJsAp7Y=/167x0:2834x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63057729/AllStarThingsToWatchFor_Getty_Ringer.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From a sibling rivalry in the 3-point contest to literally everything LeBron James does, the festivities in Charlotte won’t be lacking in intrigue</p> <p id="A5OjQ8">For the past decade, the lesson of All-Star Weekend was that unless you’re on the ground at Michael Jordan’s invite-only, denim-only party (dress code: the wider the leg, <a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7Or8FI8zWtOLiWzwbtVw_o_nU-o=/0x0:272x423/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:272x423):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12495027/Fashion_Police_.0.jpeg">the better</a>), the events are rather uneventful. The league knew that the game itself had been trending toward irrelevance for a while, so last year it changed the format. Now, instead of the classic East-vs.-West scrimmage, the All-Star Game resembles a YMCA pickup game, only with freak athletes. Two captains, one from each conference, pick the teams. The modification was small, but vital. Anything to prevent the All-Star Game from becoming unwatchable, or worse, the Pro Bowl on hardwood.</p>
<p id="0jTOCK">While the NBA had to tweak the formula to make the main game more attractive, the rest of the weekend’s events became more interesting on their own. Over the past three years, Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon, and Donovan Mitchell have single-leggedly rebirthed the dunk contest. (That that event—a chance to see gravity suspended over and over again live—needed CPR in the first place spoke to the state of All-Star festivities.) As teams rely more on the deep ball, the 3-point contest has become better and more relevant than ever. And the skills challenge is a chance to see Nikola Jokic sprint as fast as he can.</p>
<p id="MQ8BgW">And that’s just what to look forward to on the court. The greatest attraction is the players’ proximity to one another. For three days, the top 24 players (give or take) in the NBA will be fraternizing over Carolina barbecue. It’s <em>Big Brother</em>, but with all the plotting and alliances formed for free-agency purposes. Or so we hope.</p>
<p id="riwVfr">Here are the five things we’re most looking forward to this All-Star Weekend.</p>
<aside id="MYt3Qt"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"LeBron and Luka Have What They Need to Succeed After the All-Star Break","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/14/18225150/lebron-james-luka-doncic-nba-storylines"},{"title":"The Five Most Interesting MVP Candidates in the NBA","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18225604/nba-mvp-giannis-harden-george-jokic-durant-curry"},{"title":"“It Was All About Money”: An Oral History of the 1998-99 NBA Lockout","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/14/18222040/lockout-1998-99-season-david-stern-david-falk-billy-hunter-patrick-ewing-michael-jordan-oral-history"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="6vd32S">1. Overanalyzing Every Interaction LeBron James Has</h3>
<p id="tuxdqx">Watching the Lakers flirt with tampering has gotten sadder as the season has gone on. They went from chatting up the best-looking person in the bar at the beginning of the night to realizing their last resort gave them a fake number—all very publicly. There’s been much speculation about James’s involvement throughout the process; his agent Rich Paul’s failure to secure a trade for client Anthony Davis was linked back to James and the Lakers at every step. James’s motives were even laughed about during the live All-Star draft. He selected Davis (<a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/7/18216455/all-star-draft-lebron-giannis-takeaways">and five other upcoming free agents</a>) for teammates. Ernie Johnson asked whether he “was sure” he wanted Davis on his team, and James smirked and said, “I’m very sure of that.” Giannis Antetokounmpo, captain for the East, joked that it was tampering. “Tampering rules do not apply on All-Star Weekend,” James replied. Every conversation James has—whether it be with Davis; soon-to-be free agents Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant; any young player who can shoot better than Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma’s collective 45.7 percent from the field; or a newly retired player willing to bend the knee as a potential coach—will be scrutinized.</p>
<h3 id="S32jfE">2. Team Giannis’s Playing Three Centers at the Same Time</h3>
<p id="SfZ0Dp">Antetokounmpo drafted Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Nikola Vucevic, and Dirk Nowitzki with the full knowledge that he also needs to play somewhere on this team. That’s four 7-footers and Antetokounmpo, who, at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, can pass. He copied Milwaukee’s strategy from recent years to draft for length, which is working for the Bucks but won’t for Team Giannis—the only big on that list who’s shooting over 31 percent from 3 this season is Vucevic, who was a late pick and won’t get many minutes over a legend like Dirk. The paint will be a mosh pit, Embiid will eventually begin taking 3s he has no business taking, and this roster will be remembered as the only stain on Giannis’s first MVP season.</p>
<h3 id="D39wvO">3. The Mass Realization That John Collins Exists</h3>
<p id="qVghWI">The dunk contest provides an opportunity for low-exposure players to get some love. Just look at 2017, when Glenn Robinson III beat Derrick Jones Jr. when the former was averaging 6.1 points for the Pacers and the latter was on a two-way contract. This year, the contestants are Dennis Smith Jr., rookies Miles Bridges and Hamidou Diallo, and John Collins. Except for <em>maybe</em> Smith, those aren’t household names. Collins <a href="https://twitter.com/OddsShark/status/1093209706909315072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1093209706909315072&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F2820181-nba-slam-dunk-contest-2019-odds-and-predictions-for-entire-field">opened</a> as the favorite to win even though he’s the only big man in the field; a frontcourt player hasn’t won since Blake Griffin jumped over a Kia in 2011. But even if he falls flat, a little name recognition for him is a win. (Last year, Collins played in the Rising Stars challenge, which was the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2017/8/14/16127462/nba-schedule-2017-18-national-television-abc-espn">only time</a> he was on national television all season.) The Hawks sophomore has had the benefit of growing up in the shadows, but now that he’s averaging 19.4 points and 9.7 rebounds, it comes with the disadvantage that few people appreciate his development.</p>
<h3 id="tMqOYD">4. Seth vs. Steph</h3>
<p id="azWkDU">Klay Thompson <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/story-behind-where-klay-thompson-put-his-3-point-contest-trophy">leaves</a> his 3-point trophy in his junk drawer. He’s built a career off shooting, and the proof that he does it as well as anyone is resting somewhere among paper clips and hot sauce packets. There’s just no creativity in the 3-point contest. In fact, the most perfectly repetitive person wins. The 3 is the most coveted shot in basketball right now, and players have never been better at it, but hitting four of them in a row will never get the same reaction as Zach LaVine did <a href="https://twitter.com/sportsphotos/status/1095711310040498176">when he floated to the rim</a>.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OBRPwLVJXVe-5HQjQfJr7XUVi0s=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13760346/Screen_Shot_2019_02_14_at_12.45.23_PM.png">
<cite>Via @<a class="ql-link" href="https://twitter.com/sportsphotos/status/1095711310040498176" target="_blank">Sportsphotos</a></cite>
</figure>
<p id="57v7m9">Andrew Wiggins looks pissed at gravity for playing favorites, Kyle Lowry looks scared for his son, and John Wall looks like his entire life is flashing before his eyes. True story: Karl-Anthony Towns’s mouth would end up being stuck open like that for two years. The only person who isn’t glued to LaVine in this picture is the woman in the fur vest in the top left, and I can guarantee you one thing she isn’t thinking about is the 3-point contest.</p>
<p id="AFARDI">Yet this year, the 3-point contest has something the dunk contest has never had: sibling rivalry. Stephen Curry, the older and more successful of the Curry brothers, is facing Seth Curry in a field that also includes Dirk Nowitzki, Kemba Walker, and reigning champ Devin Booker. Steph, in addition to having an extra letter in his name, is a three-time NBA champion, a two-time MVP, and a five-time All-NBA selection, while Seth is a backup point guard in Portland. However, Seth is shooting 46.5 percent from 3, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2019_leaders.html">third best in the league among qualified players</a>, and Steph is shooting 44.4 percent, a lowly … sixth. Seth takes far fewer per game, but he’s also given less of an opportunity. Because there isn’t room for variation or outside factors in the 3-point contest, it’s the perfect event for two brothers to square up.</p>
<h3 id="lhesA1">5. A Constellation of Niche League Pass Stars</h3>
<p class="c-end-para" id="tZ62JE">The Rising Stars game might lose half its potential audience to whatever movie is on AMC on Friday night, sure, but it’s a hipster basketball fan’s dream. This year’s Team World is a compilation of young niche players we’ll later brag about knowing “back before they made it big.” (This excludes Luka Doncic, who graduated from hipster fan favorite to mainstream fan favorite the moment he was drafted.) Come for Doncic and OG Anunoby; stay for the rest of Team World, Cedi Osman, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Rodions Kurucs.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/15/18225545/all-star-weekend-preview-look-forwardHaley O'Shaughnessy2019-02-13T15:45:05-05:002019-02-13T15:45:05-05:00Harry’s New Hobby, March Madness Futures, and All-Star Weekend Props
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<img alt="Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets attempts a layup against the Chicago Bulls" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FMdeRFJljiJlbBPVte3BuMDp-mQ=/0x0:3516x2637/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63049055/1126018470.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cousin Sal is joined by the Degenerate Trifecta to discuss the dead period in the sports-betting world, NCAA title odds a month out, and the most athletic maneuver in sports history</p> <div id="0lnWy3"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/3g1AkIXD65yzdKZF5BKXtg" style="width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p id="q3nUsz"><a href="https://art19.com/shows/against-all-odds/episodes/f7539782-e40b-439a-873a-ea5c4d3ac49d">Cousin Sal is joined by the Degenerate Trifecta</a> to discuss the dead period in the sports-betting world, March Madness title odds a month out, and the most athletic maneuver in sports history. Plus, another edition of <em>Sharp Tank</em>.</p>
<p id="Jw7pTW"><strong>Subscribe: </strong><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fagainst-all-odds-with-cousin-sal%2Fid1231273478%3Fmt%3D2">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://art19.com/shows/against-all-odds">Art19</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/against-all-odds-with-cousin-sal">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/againstalloddswithcousinsal">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2019/2/13/18223840/harrys-new-hobby-march-madness-futures-and-all-star-weekend-propsAgainst All Odds With Cousin Sal2019-02-07T22:04:58-05:002019-02-07T22:04:58-05:00Three Takeaways From the NBA’s All-Star Draft
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<img alt="LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo staring each other down" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ht9MINLPqciLbRUj9Jm3vEQ9M98=/146x0:2813x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63020289/AllStarDraftReax_Getty_Ringer.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
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<p>Giannis drafted his buddies, LeBron went after the Lakers’ real-life targets, and the NBA had some fun</p> <p id="Qqupcl">The only expectation for the 2019 NBA All-Star draft special was that there would be one to watch. We’ve been waiting an entire year for a televised draft. The league changed the format of the All-Star rosters for the 2018 game, but kept the actual draft—the part that would’ve garnered the most engagement—behind closed doors. The captains wouldn’t <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/25/16934766/2018-nba-all-star-draft-bad">even talk</a> about the order they chose, lest they hurt anyone’s feelings—any NBA All-Star’s feelings, the feelings of an elite group of professional basketball players who are selected by their peers, coaches, and fans as the best in the game. </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="fUZZLd"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Buckle Up, the Eastern Conference’s Upper Echelon Is a War Zone","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/7/18216323/bucks-raptors-celtics-sixers-east-elite"},{"title":"The Winners and Losers of the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/7/18215518/winners-losers-nba-2019-trade-deadline"},{"title":"Nik and Wade’s Excellent Trade Deadline Adventure","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/7/18216367/nik-stauskas-wade-baldwin-trade-deadline"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="ARfPre">I’m never one to discount feelings, but I’m also not the one missing out on monetizing a televised draft. The NBA realized this, and, like they do for everything else, they capitalized. Airing the draft, which this year was between Western Conference captain LeBron James and Eastern Conference captain Giannis Antetokounmpo, was worth it for James’s expressions in the first 30 seconds alone. The draft was filmed early Thursday morning, perhaps around the same time reports were released that Anthony Davis would not be traded before the deadline, and would finish the season in New Orleans. (James’s reported desire, of course, was for his fellow Klutch Sports client to end up in Los Angeles.) “Everything’s good,” James responded to Ernie’s initial “How are things?” To me, he said it with a forced smile; to others, it might’ve looked genuine. Part of the fun was just getting the chance to scrutinize. It was the first moment in the trade deadline fiasco that we were close up with the man who had the most to lose, and lost it. </p>
<p id="vAx477">The draft itself was at the speed of any fantasy selection process, with some deliberation and recalibration after the other team made a surprise move. In the end, these were the teams James and Antetokounmpo selected: </p>
<p id="GfETQo"><strong>Team LeBron:</strong></p>
<p id="us3FlL">LeBron James<br>Kevin Durant<br>Kyrie Irving<br>Kawhi Leonard<br>James Harden<br>Anthony Davis<br>Klay Thompson<br>Ben Simmons*<br>Damian Lillard<br>LaMarcus Aldridge<br>Karl-Anthony Towns<br>Bradley Beal <br>Dwyane Wade</p>
<p id="laIIZ9"><strong>Team Giannis:</strong></p>
<p id="AeE3Jr">Giannis Antetokounmpo<br>Steph Curry<br>Joel Embiid<br>Paul George<br>Kemba Walker<br>Khris Middleton<br>Nikola Jokic<br>Blake Griffin<br>Russell Westbrook*<br>D’Angelo Russell<br>Nikola Vucevic<br>Kyle Lowry<br>Dirk Nowitzki </p>
<p id="zoeyYe">*James traded Westbrook to Antetokounmpo for Simmons.</p>
<p id="Lex1ze">As Chris Ryan <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/25/16934766/2018-nba-all-star-draft-bad">wrote</a> after last year’s non-televised event, the draft needs to be seen to be considered a spectacle. This fit. Here are three takeaways from the first-ever on-air All-Star draft:</p>
<h3 id="l3jV2h">1. Giannis Is Too Nice to Be a GM</h3>
<p id="xevIrp">Dear Antetokounmpo drafted with his heart, not his head. He mentioned before the draft that he was planning on taking Steph Curry first because Curry took him first the year before. Curry is a top-five player in the NBA, so Antetokounmpo easily got away with a little loyalty there. Still, it foreshadowed of the lack of viciousness to come. </p>
<aside id="mYKkwV"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Team Kevin vs. Team Shea: A 2019 NBA All-Star Game Draft","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/4/18210137/2019-nba-all-star-game-draft"}]}'></div></aside><p id="eDS2xE">For his first bench selection—we all know how crucial that WR2 or flex can be—Antetokounmpo took teammate Khris Middleton. He was leaving three rings (Klay Thompson), three unicorns (Nikola Jokic, Ben Simmons, Karl-Anthony Towns), and 3-pointers (again, <em>Klay “I have the record for most 3s in a game” Thompson</em>) on the board. I applaud loyalty, and Middleton isn’t a scrub. But that’ll cost Antetokounmpo. Er, it would, if this were a serious competition and not the All-Star Game.</p>
<p id="4rFcOo">Antetokounmpo finished his regular selections (before the honorary additions of Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki) with Kyle Lowry because “I promised him I wasn’t going to take him last,” which left Bradley Beal to Team James. Lowry is shooting 41 percent from the field this season, and is averaging 14.2 points to Beal’s 24.9. Points > promises. </p>
<div id="RaE2Dd"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/udbP9-3b7qE?rel=0" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<h3 id="J40ZWT">2. LeBron Is at Work</h3>
<p id="8dSWxy">The trade deadline bent so far from the Lakers’ favor that James is still on a team with more memes dedicated to it than accolades. And a large group of NBA fans were happy to see him—the man who seems to always trade in his teammates for better ones—fail. James jokingly leaned into the villian role during the draft, as he not-so-jokingly did years earlier in Miami. </p>
<p id="w9ZgP2">James drafted Kevin Durant (an upcoming free agent), Kyrie Irving (an upcoming free agent), Kawhi Leonard (an upcoming free agent), James Harden, and Anthony Davis (a prime trade target) for his starting five. When Ernie Johnson asked him about adding Davis to his team, which he has seemed to be actually trying to do over the past two weeks, James laughed without apprehension: </p>
<p id="HFPzJ5">Ernie: “You sure you want him to be your teammate?” </p>
<p id="dDgubZ">James: “I’m very sure of that.” </p>
<p id="jfVnrH">Antetokounmpo: “Isn’t that tampering?”</p>
<p id="ItQur3">James: “Tampering rules do not apply on All-Star weekend.” </p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This whole Anthony Davis bit between LeBron And Ernie is <a href="https://t.co/79ERIzyf0b">pic.twitter.com/79ERIzyf0b</a></p>— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) <a href="https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1093666212620451841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2019</a>
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<p id="VuW9lL">Why wouldn’t he feel free to make that joke? Though his recent maneuvering has been disappointing, there have never been consequences for James trying to control managerial aspects of the game before. After the draft was over, even, James proposed a trade to Antetokounmpo—Westbrook for Simmons—that wasn’t part of the scheduled programming. Antetokounmpo accepted, tying a bow on his performance as the ultimate good sport of the evening, and the All-Star Game had its first-ever trade. At least James got one trade done on deadline day.</p>
<h3 id="VzjtGl">3. The NBA Can Laugh at Itself</h3>
<p class="c-end-para" id="W263p8">For something as ridiculous as an All-Star Game, “rules” really don’t matter. Whatever is conductive to entertainment will be allowed. That’s where the NBA stands out as a league—the nature of the game doesn’t have a clear in-game break for something like a celebratory touchdown dance, but if it did, the NBA would preserve that space. Because James was drafting and because Davis was on the board, the league knew there was a decent likelihood that the broadcast would discuss what had been going on the past couple of days between the Pelicans and the Lakers. And some of the league’s serious issues, like tampering, were at stake—yet the NBA trusted the participants to make light of it. Again, for entertainment. The NBA isn’t a regular mom, it’s a cool mom.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/7/18216455/all-star-draft-lebron-giannis-takeawaysHaley O'Shaughnessy