NBA All-Star Weekend 2009
All-Star Weekend Logo
This weekend, February 13-15, is the yearly basketball spectacle, held in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a gathering of the finest basketball players, mostly men, but some women are invited, all put together to pit their skills against one another.
It all started Friday night, which just happened to be the ominous Friday the 13th. First there was the All-Star Celebrity game, which featured celebrities such as Zach Levi (“Chuck”), James Denton (“Desperate Housewives”), and Donald Faison (“Scrubs”). Although a basketball game, it is mostly fun for all. The East team ended up winning, 60-57 over the West team. Also on Friday night was the annual Rookie Challenge, which pits rookies against sophomore players. Some of the players included rookies Rudy Fernandez [Portland], Michael Beasley [Miami], and Marc Gasol [Memphis], while some of the sophomores included Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City) and Rodney Stuckey (Detroit). The sophomores came from behind to win the game, 122-116. This was the 7th straight win for the sophomores.
Saturday night included: the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, Footlocker Three Point Shoot-Out, Playstation Skills Challenge, and the Haier Shooting Stars. The Slam Dunk contest was mostly a spectacle, featuring Nate Robinson (New York), Rudy Fernandez (as voted by viewers, Portland), Dwight Howard (Orlando), and J.R. Smith (Denver). Nate Robinson over came defending champ Dwight Howard to win the contest, voted on by viewers. In the Footlocker Three Point Shoot-Out, two-time defending champ Jason Kapono (Toronto) claimed he would go for the three-peat, but failed to do so. He lost to surprise winner, Daeqan Cook (Miami). In the Playstation Skills Challenge, the competition came down to Devin Harris (New Jersey) and 2008 number one draft pick, Derrick Rose (Chicago). Rookie Derrick Rose won the contest with ease. The Haier Shooting Stars, featuring 4 teams (LA, Detroit, San Antonio, and Phoenix), each consisting of 3 players, one current team member, one team legend, and one woman from the affiliated women’s team. Team Detroit took the crown back from San Antonio.
Sunday night came the long awaited 58th Annual All-Star Game. The West took on the East as the best players in the NBA are were put to the test. The East won last year, but the West looked to take the title this year. Some of the players included: LeBron James (Cleveland), Kobe Bryant (LA), Chris Paul (New Orleans), Tim Duncan (San Antonio), and Pau Gasol (LA).
The West ended up dominating from the second quarter and never looked back. The final score ended up being 146 to 119, in favor of the West. Kobe Bryant (LA) and Shaq O'Neal (Phoenix) ended up being named Co-MVPs.
