Starting 5, Feb. 18: Curry, McClung, Lillard, Haliburton take over Saturday
Four walkoffs.
Mac McClung with a 50. Tyrese Haliburton from halfcourt. Damian Lillard on the final ball of the final rack. And Steph Curry, with four makes on the final rack, after needing to hit three.
Before the 73rd NBA All-Star Game tips tonight (8 ET, TNT/TBS) … let’s catch you up on the best from a State Farm All-Star Saturday Night unlike any we’ve seen before.
THE LINEUP
- Saturday Night in photos & GIFs
- A wild Saturday night, recapped
- Sunday’s watch guide
- Great Saturday daytime moments
- ✨ 5 things to watch at the ASG
Commissioner Adam Silver met with the media for his annual All-Star news conference.
Winston-Salem won the 3rd annual NBA HBCU Classic.
Bam Adebayo will replace Joel Embiid in the All-Star starting lineup.
Need to catch up? Head to the All-Star Hub
1. SATURDAY NIGHT IN PHOTOS & GIFS
From Stephen vs. Sabrina, to two people leaping over Shaq, to state-of-the-art LED courts providing a runway for all of it, so much happened on Saturday night that the NBA had never seen before.
So, we start today by getting out of the way and letting the visuals talk.
Hali seals Team Pacers’ win in the first relay.
Tyrese wins it & holds the pose.
Check out Steph’s reaction as Sabrina cooks.
Game recognize game.
Steph shimmies after the W.
Jaylen goes up with his left.
Mac over Shaq.
The celebration.
2. ‘IF YOU CAN SHOOT, YOU CAN SHOOT’
After Sabrina Ionescu matches the best score from the Starry 3-Point Contest, Steph Curry turns in a vintage performance.
Sabrina Ionescu and Stephen Curry made history Saturday night in Indianapolis, meeting in the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge, with Curry taking a late 29-26 win in an event that electrified the sports world. Watch the full event
- Sabrina starts hot: Ionescu, who owns the record for the best 3-Point Contest in history, made her first seven shots and 8-of-9 money balls to match the best score from the Starry 3-Point Contest just a few minutes prior
- Curry closes: Steph, the NBA’s all-time 3-point leader, had two perfect racks: the left and right wing. He saved his moneyballs for the final rack, where he needed to make 3 to win. He hit four … then hit the dance
- Said Sabrina: “If you can shoot you can shoot, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or boy.’
- The belt: Curry walked away as the Stephen vs. Sabrina champion, with a brand-new championship belt – featuring two goats – to prove it
- Respect: The two made for an instant classic shot with an embrace after Steph’s win
Mac McClung defeats Jaylen Brown in the final round to claim back-to-back titles.
Late Saturday night, Mac McClung had to clear two things to defend his AT&T Slam Dunk crown: a score of 49.2 to beat Jaylen Brown in the finals, and a 7-foot-1 Shaquille O’Neal … who was wearing McClung’s high school jersey. Watch the full contest
- McClung worked the crowd, picked up speed, leaped and cleared Shaq on the way to a 50-point dunk – the lone 50 from the contest – and a walkoff win. Here’s every angle … and a super-slo mo look
- Brown had put up a 48.6 on a tribute dunk to Terrence Clarke, and a 49.2 over Donovan Mitchell with his left (gloved) hand
- Mac had just gotten a 48.8 by jumping over two people. Yup, two people.
- Find all of McClung’s dunks right here
- 7th repeat champ: Mac became the seventh player to win multiple Dunk Contests, and the fifth to go back-to-back. The others to win two: MJ, Dominique Wilkins, Harold Miner, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson and Zach LaVine
- What did Shaq say? When Diesel agreed to wear Mac’s jersey, he had one request: you better not miss
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Jacob Toppin had both pulled off acrobatics, too, with a dunk over Shaq (after a childhood dream) and a leap over a person into a reverse, respectively
Turns out Dame Time applies in the Starry 3-Point Contest too.
Damian Lillard hit the final shot he had left in the final round – after missing his previous four shots at the final rack – to claim his second straight title, edging Trae Young 26-24. | Watch the full contest
- First time in 16 years: Lillard became the first repeat champ since Jason Kapono in 2007-08
- Lillard tied in the First Round with Young, Haliburton and 2022 champ Karl-Anthony Towns, all with 26. Haliburton was eliminated in a tiebreaker, sending Dame into a finals matchup with Trae & KAT
- Said Lillard: “It’s only right I do it with some drama”
- Also Dame: “I didn’t prepare at all… that’s the key… just show up and shoot“
- Go courtside to see Dame go back-to-back
- Watch all of Dame’s 3s
Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin lead Team Pacers to 2024 Kia Skills Challenge championship.
Team Pacers wins Skills Challenge: Tyrese Haliburton might still have that hand hanging in the air. The hometown hero hit the walkoff halfcourt shot in OT – then struck the pose & savored the moment as the crowd erupted — to send Team Pacers (Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner) to the Kia Skills Challenge win. Watch the full contest
- Here’s that clutch bucket in suuuuuuper slo-mo
- Starting strong: Indy raced out to an early lead, punctuated by Hali going between the legs and off the glass to himself to make the home crowd erupt and earn 100 points
- Team Pacers then took the passing round in OT versus Team All-Stars (Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young) to earn a second 100
- Team All-Stars rallied to force OT by winning the shooting competition, worth 200 points
3. WHAT’S COMING SUNDAY?
Not only will the 73rd NBA All-Star Game (8 ET, TNT/TBS) bring together the biggest names in basketball, it’ll bring back the East-West format to a place that last hosted the All-Star Game 39 years ago.
But before that, what’s happening on Sunday?
- The 8th annual Basketball Without Borders global camp will bring together 40 top high school-aged prospects from 22 countries and territories (11 ET, NBA App)
- The annual NBA Legends Brunch (11 ET) sees icons of the game in the same room to pay tribute to hoop greatness
- The NBA G League Up Next Game presented by AT&T features four teams of seven players, made up of 28 total G League players, competing in a tournament — in another display of elite rising talent (1:30 ET, NBA App)
- LeBron James will meet with the media at 5 ET in the NBA App
- Malika Andrews hosts the AT&T All-Star Sunday Blue Carpet, talking to celebs & influencers as they head into Gainbridge Fieldhouse (7 ET, NBA App)
4. A FEW OTHER GREAT MOMENTS FROM SATURDAY
Saturday’s All-Star Practice & Media Day presented by AT&T delivered its usual dose of gold:
- ‘Bounce’: Luka called his shot from the ball rack, bouncing in a moonshot that surprised even him. And NBA App player correspondent Dereck Lively II was standing right next to him
- Jayson Tatum & the vet: JT & Damian Lillard had a hilarious moment with Lively, where Tatum reminded Dame he’s the oldest player in their locker room (‘and the most seasoned,’ Lillard said)
- KD on All-Star No. 10: “One of my goals was to play 10+ All-Star games, that’s what all the greats did. I’m grateful.”
- Jokic on Wemby: “I think he’s going to change the game.”
- Brunson on his 1st All-Star: “To be able to see the joy this brings to my family, it’s fun.”
- Tatum on why it’s special: “Just the history of it,” he told kid reporter Jeremiah.” Sharing the court with some of the greatest players who ever played
- Funny Hali moment: “How does it feel to be the second Tyrese in the NBA?” asked Dereck Lively II
What else?
- A Jr. NBA clinic lost it when Wemby showed up
- Donovan Mitchell wore a POV camera around practice
- All love (and a giant hug) between Luka & Jokic
5. ALL-STAR: FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Return to East vs. West: After six years with team captains drafting rosters regardless of conference, the 2024 All-Star Game will return to the traditional format used for the first 66 games.
This return to tradition should come with All-Star being held in Indiana, a state rich in basketball history. As the locals will tell you, basketball is in their DNA.
With conference bragging rights back on the table, how have the two conferences done against one another so far this season? In 294 head-to-head games between East and West teams, the West leads 167-127. However, All-Star history favors the East, 37-29.
Four first-time All-Stars: The East features all four All-Star rookies coming off the bench – Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Paolo Banchero and Scottie Barnes.
While all four have proven that their game is on par with the best of the best, how will they respond when they step foot on the All-Star stage? Will they be eager to show out and make their mark? Or will they defer to the All-Star vets?
The first two decade All-Star: Speaking of veterans, Sunday’s game will feature the first-ever 20-time All-Star when LeBron James takes the court for the opening tip.
After passing Kareem in scoring last season, LeBron now holds a trifecta of scoring titles as the all-time leader in regular season, Playoffs and All-Star Game points. It was nearly a quad-fecta, but Tyrese Haliburton edged out LeBron by two points in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Who goes for the Kobe Bryant MVP? We’ve seen four straight first-time All-Star MVPs the past four years – Kawhi Leonard (2020), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021), Steph Curry (2022) and Jayson Tatum (2023). Will that streak continue in 2024?
A total of seven former All-Star MVPs will play in this year’s game – the four above along with Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant (2x) and LeBron (3x) – and all have the ability to add to their collection.
But with over 70% of the players in this year’s game not having an MVP on their resume, we could be looking at another first-timer.
Who has the most memorable moment? The All-Star Game is as much about the final result as it is the moments that got us there. Many fans won’t remember who won the game years down the line, but they’ll remember a specific play, shot or moment forever.
- Shaq dancing with the Jabbawockeez during introductions in 2009
- Steph Curry with the bounce-pass alley-oop to Giannis as teammates in 2019
- Steph laying on the court so he wouldn’t get dunked on by Giannis in 2017
- Damian Lillard hitting a half-court walk-off 3 in 2021
- Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan trash talking during MJ’s final All-Star in 2003 (after Vince Carter gave up his starting spot to Jordan)
- Magic Johnson returning to win All-Star MVP in 1992
