On a holiday celebrating love and affection, thousands of enthusiastic basketball fans showed up at Intuit Dome to cheer for their favorite NBA players in a trifecta of skills competitions on the eve of the league’s 75th annual All-Star Game.
Getting Saturday off to a scintillating start was the three-point contest — one of All-Star weekend’s most coveted prizes since Larry Bird won the initial contest in 1986 as well as the next two.
Portland’s Damian Lillard joined Bird and Craig Hodges (1990-92) as the only three-time winners with a stunning exhibition in the final round, ending up with a score of 29 — two better than runner-up and 2018 champion Devin Booker of Phoenix. Lillard equaled the best final-round score, set by Karl Anthony-Towns in 2022.
“I came out here excited to do it,” said Lillard, who won with 26 points in 2023 and 2024. “I can’t say I knew I’d win but I came in confident. This is my sixth time doing it … this felt like a game to me.”
Lillard went second in the finals and watched anxiously from the bench as it looked like Booker would overtake him before missing his last three shots from the corner.
“At the end I was at his mercy but it worked out,” said Lillard, a nine-time All-Star who underwent successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in April and is sitting out this season. “I was once a fan too — as a kid I went to the All-Star game in Oakland— and fans want to see their guys. That’s what made me want to be a part of it.”
In the first round, eight players had 70 seconds to shoot 27 balls from five designated spots on the court. Booker posted the highest score (30) and also making the finals with 27 points each were Lillard and Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel. Donovan Mitchell (24), Norman Powell (23), Jamal Murray (18), Tyrese Maxey (17) and Bobby Portis Jr. (15) were eliminated.
Six players have won the contest twice: Mark Price, Peja Stojakovic, Stephen Curry, Jeff Hornacek and Jason Kapono.
Next up was the shooting stars competition, which returned to the All-Star weekend lineup after a 10-year hiatus and featured four teams, each consisting of two current NBA players and one retired “legend.”
When all was said and done, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Towns and Allan Houston led Team Knicks to a 47-38 triumph over Team Cameron, made up of Duke alums Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Kon Knueppel (Hornets) and Corey Maggette, who played for six teams in his NBA career including the Clippers.
“This was cool and the game’s become more and more international,” Brunson said. “Basketball is a universal language. Winning’s always fun, not just beating a team from Duke.”
In the semifinals, Team Knicks beat Team Harper (Dylan Harper of San Antonio, Ron Harper Jr. of the Celtics and their father, five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, Sr.) while Team Cameron beat Team All-Star (Scottie Barnes of Toronto, Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City and three-time All-Star Richard Hamilton.
Was it a case of the old guy carrying the young guys?
“He did his job,” Anthony Towns joked about Houston, who played for the Knicks from 1996-05 and currently serves as general manager of the franchise’s G League team, the Westchester Knicks.
Shooting stars was a regular feature from 2004-15 and the original format featured an NBA, WNBA and retired player on each team shooting from four locations.
This year, each team had 70 seconds to score points by shooting from seven different areas worth anywhere from two to four points.
Rounding out Valentine’s Day festivities was the crowd-pleasing slam-dunk contest, showcasing the individuality and athleticism of its four first-time participants: Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, Spurs forward Carter Bryant, Heat forward Keshad Johnson and Magic rookie guard Jase Richardson.
Johnson, who measured a 42-inch vertical leap at the 2024 draft combine, ultimately raised the gold trophy following a final round total of 97.4. He made a side-to-side move at the rim on his penultimate attempt, then sprinted the length of the court and soared from around the top of the key for a windmill jam on his last effort.
Bryant settled for second with 93 despite a perfect score of 50 after he bounced the ball off the floor, under his leg for a one-handed stuff that drew thunderous applause on his first try before making a less-difficult 360-degree shot with time running out on his second attempt.
Reigning champion Max McClung, the only player in the event’s history to win three years in a row, announced in January he would not be defending his title. He is signed to a two-way contract with the Bulls and their G League affiliate Windy City.
In the opening round all four players attempted two slam dunks each, receiving a score between 40 and 50 per try. The two contestants accumulating the highest aggregate scores, Bryant (94.8) and Johnson (92.8), qualified for the final dunk-off, where both got two more attempts.
Spurred on by the hometown crowd, Hayes was third at 91.8 while Richardson, the son of two-time winner Jason Richardson, was last 88.8.
Judging this year’s contest were former champions Nate Robinson, Dominique Wilkins, Brent Barry, former Lakers center Dwight Howard and fans via NBA ID.
Julius Irving won the first slam-dunk contest in 1976, the year before the ABA-NBA merger. Robinson (2006, 2009, 2010) and McClung are the only three-time winners.