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![]() Stephen Curry hits 16 3s to win All-Star Game MVP; LeBron James nails game winner (Photo: si.com)
![]() Warriors beat Celtics 103-90 to win 4th NBA title in 8 years (Photo: dw.com)
Arrived: Andre Iguodala (Miami Heat), Nemanja Bjelica (Sacramento Kings), Axel Toupane (SIG Strasbourg), Otto Porter Jr. (Chicago Bulls), Chris Chiozza (Brooklyn Nets), Quinndary Weatherspoon (Austin Spurs), Jeff Dowtin Jr. (Orlando Magic), LJ Figueroa (Club Rafael Barias)
Left: Axel Toupane (Santa Cruz Warriors), Jeff Dowtin Jr. (Orlando Magic), LJ Figueroa (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Average Height: 197.1 cm (6'5.6'')
Average Age: 28.8
NBA Awards 2022 - Jun 20, 2022 Finals MVP: Most Valuable Player: Most Improved Player: Sixth Man of the Year: Rookie of the Year: Defensive Player of the Year: Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: Hustle Award: Sportsmanship Award: Community Assist Award: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award: Coach of the Year: Monty Williams of Phoenix S.
First Team
Second Team
Third Team
All-Defensive 1st Team
All-Defensive 2nd Team
All-Rookie 1st Team
All-Rookie 2nd Team Warriors beat Celtics 103-90 to win 4th NBA title in 8 years - Jun 16, 2022 The Golden State Warriors are NBA champions once again, topping the Boston Celtics 103-90 on Thursday night for their fourth title in the last eight seasons. Stephen Curry (6'3''-G-1988, college: Davidson) scored 34 points for the Warriors, who claimed the franchise's seventh championship overall. And this one completed a journey like none other, after a run of five consecutive finals, then a plummet to the bottom of the NBA, and now a return to greatness just two seasons after having the league's worst record. For Curry, Klay Thompson (6'6''-G-1990, college: WSU), Draymond Green (6'6''-F-1990, college: Michigan St.) and Andre Iguodala (6'6''-SF-1984, college: Arizona), it's a fourth championship. The first three rings came in 2015, 2017 and 2018, when Golden State was dynastic and made five consecutive trips to the finals. Injuries, including ones that sidelined Thompson for 2 1/2 years, and roster changes changed everything. But this season, with Thompson returning around the midway point, the Warriors were finally back. Back on top, too. Champions, again, denying the storied Celtics what would have been their record 18th championship, one that would have allowed Boston to break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history. This tale for the Warriors ended much differently than what was their most recent finals appearance against Toronto in 2019, one that saw Kevin Durant tear his Achilles tendon in Game 5 and then Thompson tear his ACL in what became the Raptors' title-clincher in Game 6. The aftermath of that loss was exacerbated by Durant's decision to leave that summer in free agency to join the Brooklyn Nets and Thompson's own Achilles injury while rehabilitating his knee injury. It thrust a Golden State team into a rebuild that became a reload. The Warriors used their two-year hiatus from the NBA's biggest stages to retool their roster - adding a past No. 1 draft pick in Andrew Wiggins, who excelled in his first finals, along with another rising star in Jordan Poole (6'4''-SG-1999, college: Michigan). It all clicked. For Golden State coach Steve Kerr , it's a ninth championship overall after winning five as a player. He's the sixth coach to capture four titles, joining Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, John Kundla, Gregg Popovich and Pat Riley. Jaylen Brown (6'7''-SF-1996, college: California) led the Celtics with 34 points. Al Horford (6'10''-F/C-1986, college: Florida) added 19. Jayson Tatum (6'8''-SF-1998, college: Duke) finished with 13 points, but shot just 6 of 18 from the field. Boston also committed 22 turnovers, dropping to 1-8 this postseason when committing 16 or more. It was just the fifth defeat in 22 title-series appearances for Boston, which turned its season around to have a chance at this crown. Boston was 25-25 after 50 games, then went on an absolute tear to get to the finals and nearly claim what would have been just the franchise's second championship since 1986. It was the third consecutive season where things were affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and while things were closer to normal, pictures and video of the championship celebration will serve as a forever reminder that the virus was still an issue. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver could not be at the game because he remained in the league's health and safety protocols related to the virus. The redesigned Larry O'Brien Trophy - the golden souvenir given to the NBA champions - was presented to the Warriors by deputy commissioner Mark Tatum instead. Courtesy of: apnews.com Stephen Curry hits 16 3s to win All-Star Game MVP; LeBron James nails game winner - Feb 21, 2022 The two kids from Akron stole the show at Sunday night's All-Star Game. Stephen Curry (6'3''-G-1988, college: Davidson) put on a shooting clinic all evening, hitting 16 3-pointers and scoring 50 points, while LeBron James (6'8''-SF-1984) hit an absurd, one-legged turnaround jumper to clinch the victory for Team LeBron over Team Durant 163-160. On a night when the NBA honored its 75 greatest players, two of them -- Curry and James -- put on displays worthy of the occasion. "Yeah, I told him on the court after the game it was kind of a perfect ending," said Curry, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player. "I was chasing that extra two or three points. I think DeMar [DeRozan] hit a big shot, and then [James] came out and hit the game winner. "It was kind of a perfect ending. Obviously, I got the MVP; I played well the whole night. He hit the game winner. All the history of our series and the Akron ties, and all that kind of going into how the night went, so it was pretty -- can't really draw it up any other way. "It's right on the nose of how it should go." Curry, who set the NBA's all-time record for 3-pointers made earlier this season, hit an absurd 16 3-pointers -- which would be the most in any game in NBA history, and smashed the prior All-Star Game record of nine. After setting the first-half record with eight triples, Curry brought the crowd -- which had loudly booed the Golden State Warriors star before the game -- to its feet when he nailed five straight 3-pointers early in the third quarter, including one on three straight possessions. He then hit his 15th 3 -- more than anyone has ever made in any NBA game -- at the end of a passing sequence that saw him pass it to James, who threw it to Nikola Jokic, who passed to Giannis Antetokounmpo (6'11''-F-1994, agency: Octagon Europe), who then swung it to Curry in the corner. Curry then let it fly, and he fully turned around to celebrate before the ball softly fell through the net. During the next timeout, Curry said into the microphone he was wearing for TNT, "Can someone tell me what the record is for points?" Ultimately, Curry wound up with "only" 50 points -- missing a couple of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that would've allowed him to surpass the 52 points Anthony Davis (6'10''-C-1993, college: Kentucky) scored to set the record in 2017 -- before James ended the contest with his dagger over Zach LaVine (6'5''-SG-1995, college: UCLA). "I couldn't have dreamt it," James said of hitting the game winner. "I could not have dreamed of that moment any better than the actuality that just happened. For me to be back here, like I keep stating, 35 minutes [north] of where I grew up here in Akron, Ohio, to hit the game winner in the All-Star Game where me and my guys back in the back, we used to watch the All-Star Game. I remember 25 years ago we were 12, 11, wishing that we had the opportunity or the means to come up to Cleveland and see some of the greatest basketball players of all time because they inspired us so much. "For me to be here today, for my best friends to be here, for my wife and my kids and my family, my mom. There are so many people that seen me grow from really a young toddler to who I am today. I couldn't even -- I couldn't picture that moment any better." The exploits of James and Curry -- as well as Antetokounmpo, who was the only player on either team playing any sort of defense for large stretches of the evening -- came along with taking part in the NBA's 75th anniversary celebration, as the league honored the 75 greatest players in its history. A large group picture of those who were in attendance was taken inside the arena before the game began. They were then honored during halftime with a ceremony that was emceed by Oscar-winning director Spike Lee, included a video narrated by Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker and then saw every player honored by position -- beginning with forwards, followed by centers and ending with guards. The last player announced was Michael Jordan, who drew the biggest cheer of the night. "To be a part of the 75 greatest basketball players to ever play, it just takes me back to my childhood once again growing up in Spring Hill and having all my inspirations taped on my wall, Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson," James said. "To see those guys today and then be on stage with those guys it is ... you guys don't understand. "I'm trying to make you understand as much as I can, but it's just crazy." The game itself used the format first introduced at the All-Star Game in Chicago two years ago, the Elam Ending, which brought the same level of intensity and competition to the final moments this year that it did in its debut. After the two teams played each of the first three quarters for charity -- with the winner of each individual quarter earning $100,000 for its respective charity (Team LeBron playing for Kent State's I Promise Scholars Program and Team Durant playing for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank) -- the fourth quarter was played to a target score. During introductions, it came as no surprise that James received a massive ovation from the fans he has played in front of for 11 of his 18-plus NBA seasons -- letting out a massive roar and raising his arms to the crowd as they did so. It was equally expected that the two Golden State stars honored Sunday night -- Curry, who did play, and Draymond Green (6'6''-F-1990, college: Michigan St.), who did not -- were roundly booed after playing James and the Cleveland Cavaliers four straight years in the NBA Finals, from 2015 to 2018, winning three of them. Team LeBron won the first quarter 47-45, thanks to Luka Doncic (6'7''-G-1999) scoring the team's final six points. Team Durant came back and won the second quarter 49-46 -- despite a record-setting eight first-half 3-pointers from Curry -- to take a 94-93 halftime lead. The two teams then tied in the third quarter, thanks to a heady defensive play by Antetokounmpo late in the quarter. That left the score at 139-138 in favor of Team Durant heading into the fourth, meaning that the target score was 163 points -- 24 more than the total from the team leading after three, in a nod to the late Kobe Bryant, and setting up James' final heroics after Joel Embiid (7'0''-C-1994, college: Kansas) and Antetokounmpo traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter. "I was just trying to win," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm really competitive. Kind of the All-Star Games, they are not built for me. Obviously, I come out here and try to enjoy the game as much as possible, but I don't know how not to go hard. I kind of feel terrible when I'm walking around because I always try to go full speed no matter what I do because that's how -- what type of player I am." For the second straight year, Team Durant was without its captain, as Kevin Durant (6'9''-SF-1988, college: Texas) was unable to play in Sunday's game due to the MCL sprain that has sidelined him for the past month. Durant was originally scheduled to attend the game, despite his injury, but did not after the death of his grandmother this weekend. Green (back, calf) and James Harden (6'5''-SG-1989, college: Arizona St.) (hamstring) also missed the game due to injury, with LaMelo Ball (6'7''-G-2001), Dejounte Murray (6'4''-G-1996, college: Washington) and Jarrett Allen (6'11''-C-1998, college: Texas), respectively, being tapped to serve as their replacements. Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-1996, college: Louisville) announced just a couple of hours before tip on Sunday that he too wouldn't play, due to an upper respiratory illness that kept him from participating in anything on Saturday and, ultimately, the All-Star Game itself. Chris Paul, meanwhile, will miss the next six to eight weeks, at least, after suffering an avulsion fracture in his right thumb in Wednesday's win over the Houston Rockets. And yet despite that injury, Paul played for a little more than two minutes in the first quarter of Sunday's game, missing his only shot (a left-handed layup) before sitting down for the night. But the competitive fervor that lasted until the final buzzer encapsulated how the format change has breathed new life into this event. "I think so," Suns coach Monty Williams , who coached Team LeBron, said after the game when asked if the new format was working. "I think even before the final period there's a level of competition you just didn't see before. "Guys want to win the quarter. They want to change lives with that money. And we're in the huddles, we're talking about winning the quarter, we're not out there goofing around, and in the fourth quarter, that's NBA basketball, and you have the best of the best going at it. "You look at Jarrett's block on Joel, that was a prime-time play, Giannis' steal, LeBron's shot. Steph goes for 50. You don't play like that if you're goofing around." Team LeBron improved to 5-0 since the NBA went away from the traditional East-West format of the All-Star Game in 2018 and instead adopted the current setup of having the top vote-getter from each conference draft teams from the game's remaining 22 participants. Courtesy of: espn.com Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns edges Trae Young, Luke Kennard to win NBA 3-point contest - Feb 20, 2022 Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-F/C-1995, college: Kentucky) demanded an answer as he bounded into the interview room following the 3-point contest at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday night. "Who bet against me?" Towns asked with an ear-to-ear grin. Whoever did, lost. Towns, thanks to a record-setting 29 points in the final round, emerged as the winner of the 2022 3-point contest, edging out Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (6'2''-PG-1998, college: Oklahoma) and LA Clippers guard Luke Kennard (6'5''-G-1996, college: Duke), who each put up 26. Towns was 13-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, the longest odds in the field. Towns is the first big man to win the 3-point contest since Kevin Love (6'10''-PF-1988, college: UCLA) in 2012. At 6-foot-11, he is the second-tallest winner of the contest; Dirk Nowitzki (7'0''-F-1978), who is 7-0, won it in 2006. Towns, who said he lobbied the league for years to participate, barely escaped the opening round of the competition, taking a deep breath before burying his final shot, which turned out to be just enough to advance to the final round. From there, he took off, although he was mad afterward that he blew a chance to get to at least 30, the number he expected would be needed to win the contest. "I'm super happy to win," Towns said. "It's great, but I just have such high standards for myself. ... I'm the biggest critic of myself. There's no writer, no blogger, no one who could critique and be more harsher on their game than me on my game. So I was so messed up about not getting the 30. ... I thought 30 was what I was going to need to win in the final round. I was able to scrape by with 29." Towns wore a chain in honor of his late mother, Jacqueline, after the league made an exception to its policy prohibiting jewelry from being worn during the event. Jacqueline Cruz-Towns died due to complications from COVID-19 in April 2020. In Saturday night's final round, Towns flew around the arc and set a mark that, ultimately, Kennard and Young couldn't reach. Things went according to script for Towns, with his preference being to go first and set a high score for the others to chase. "I told Luke Kennard I wanted to go first, so I was glad when they called my name and that I was gonna go first," Towns said. "Just tremendously confident in my shooting ability and wanted to go first. I wanted to keep pressure on everybody, get a high number that makes it feel almost unattainable. Just that feeling of you have to be perfect, and you miss one, it kind of knocks confidence out, so I wanted to set the tone real quick. "But I just felt good. I just felt really good and really confident all day. The energy that I had all day wasn't nervousness or anxious, it was super confident, and I can't wait to show the world what I can do when given this platform and stage." Towns, who won the Skills Challenge in 2016, joined Warriors star Stephen Curry (6'3''-G-1988, college: Davidson) as the only players to win two different events in All-Star history. Curry won the 3-point contest (2015, 2021) and Skills Challenge (2011). As for why it took him so long to get into the 3-point contest, Towns said it simply was a matter of him being a big man. While he said winning the competition was further proof he's the best-shooting big man of all time, Towns said he also wants to serve as a role model for kids, showing them they can play the way they want to play. "I think the league knew I could shoot the ball the way I could from 3," Towns said. "But for all the kids, all the tall kids and all the big men out there who are told they won't succeed doing nothing but having their back to the basket and shooting hook shots, I want to be the example that is not true, and you can accomplish anything you want and be the player you want to be at any time. "When I grew up, I remember everyone told me the same thing: 'Have your back to the basket. Why is Karl shooting 3s? There's no reason for him to be shooting 3s.' And me and my dad said, 'Screw them. We're going to do it our way. We're going to make the league our way. We're going to do it our way. We're going to be great in a way the world has never seen before.' That's been my motto. Just show the world greatness from a different lens, and I feel that in the seven years I've been in the league I've shown them that, and I'm only getting better. I'm just scratching the surface of what I can be." Courtesy of: espn.com New York Knicks' Obi Toppin wins dunk contest with one-handed slam - Feb 20, 2022 Obi Toppin (6'9''-F-1998, college: Dayton) was the top dunker Saturday at NBA All-Star Weekend. The New York Knicks forward went through the legs, tapped the ball off the backboard and finished with a one-handed slam to score a 47 on his final dunk and win the NBA slam dunk contest. "We were talking before the dunk contest and were, like, 'We want to come out here and do things that people have never seen before,'" Toppin said of conversation with Chuck Millan of Team Flight Brothers, a dunk coach he worked with to prepare for the night. "So those dunks, never been done in a dunk contest. I felt good being out there." He beat the Golden State Warriors' Juan Toscano-Anderson (6'6''-F-1993, college: Marquette, agency: BeoBasket) in an underwhelming final with Toscano-Anderson -- while wearing the uniform of past Warriors dunk champion Jason Richardson -- unable to convert his final dunk attempt after three tries. "I think I got a little too overzealous just because the first one didn't go my way," he said. Toppin, as a rookie, lost in the finals of last year's dunk contest to Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers. "I knew I had to come back for my revenge from last year, and I had fun doing it," Toppin said. "And we had a lot of great dunkers here today. I'm glad I came out with the W." In the first round, Toppin scored a 44 on his first dunk by leaping over Millan while wrapping the ball behind his back before slamming it home. Toscano-Anderson -- while wearing a black Warriors uniform with his last name and number printed in white, green and red as a nod to his Mexican heritage -- jumped over his Warriors teammate, Andrew Wiggins, while finishing a windmill dunk. Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (6'3''-PG-2000, college: UNC), who wore his father Greg Anthony's No. 50 Knicks uniform and accessorized with a pair of Timberlands to complete the New York look, was out after the first round. "When Cole missed those two first [attempts] with the Timbs on, I was, like, 'Nah, them Timbs, them heavy, so we got to boost his energy up,'" said Toppin, who cheered on his competition. "I was trying to get everybody on their feet for him doing that." Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green (6'6''-G-2002) was also out after the first round. He couldn't seize the moment after taking the court wearing a cellphone hanging from a diamond encrusted chain around his neck showing his past dunk highlights when he and teammate Kevin Porter Jr. struggled timing an alley-oop pass off the side of the backboard. Toppin became the third player in Knicks history to win the contest, following Nate Robinson (2006, '09, '10) and Kenny "Sky" Walker (1989). Toppin also won the competition in Cleveland 25 years after a rookie Kobe Bryant won the slam dunk contest in Cleveland, a fact that was not lost on him. "It feels amazing," he said. "There have been a lot of legends that have won the dunk contest, and for my name to be a part of that is something special. I don't take it for granted." Courtesy of: espn.com Cade Cunningham named MVP in revamped Rising Stars Challenge - Feb 19, 2022 The Rising Stars Challenge became the latest part of All-Star Weekend to undergo a format change, and it was a success. The event, which features the top first- and second-year NBA players, employed an entirely new format this season. Rather than just being one game involving those players, like in years past, there were four seven-man rosters coached by Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas, Rick Barry, James Worthy and Gary Payton. Three games were played -- two semifinal matchups to 50, and a championship game to 25, in a nod to the league celebrating its 75th anniversary this season. And after Cade Cunningham (6'8''-SF-2001, college: OK State), the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, led Team Barry to a 25-20 win over Team Isiah to win the event, he said he was pleased with the format change. "It was a lot of fun," Cunningham said after claiming the event's MVP award. "Great teammates, great coaches, great atmosphere ... I had a good time, for sure." All three games employed the "Elam Ending," which first came to All-Star Weekend two years ago in Chicago when it debuted in the All-Star Game. "It felt good," Rockets guard Jalen Green (6'6''-G-2002) said, after his team lost in the first semifinal when Desmond Bane (6'6''-G-1998, college: TCU) hit a couple of free throws to seal it. "It was fun. It was exciting out there. We were just hooping, playing free." While the opening moments of the games were reminiscent of past Rising Stars games, which are typically full of dunks, 3s and hardly any intensity, the new format did lead to some added spice in the final moments. When Bane was fouled by Jalen Suggs (6'4''-G-2001, college: Gonzaga) -- who had missed a potential game-winning free throw moments earlier -- at the end of the first semifinal, he was given a talking to by both Cole Anthony (6'3''-PG-2000, college: UNC) and Tyrese Maxey (6'4''-PG-2000, college: Kentucky) before calmly sinking the second to give his team the win. In fact, all three games ultimately ended on free throws -- a sign of the kind of uncharacteristic defense that was being played, at least when the games were on the line, throughout the night. "I like this," Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (6'7''-G-2001) said. "I feel like this was dope. Having something new, with the 75 and the 50 and the 25, I feel like it was creative." The night also featured G League Ignite players taking part in the festivities for the first time -- an additional way for the NBA to highlight its new initiative to get top prospects to skip college and instead spend time in the G League before being eligible for the draft. Courtesy of: espn.com NBA All-Star Game 2022 - Feb 20, 2022 TEAM DURANT
Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra TEAM LEBRON Head Coach: Monty Williams RISING STAR CHALLANGE TEAM BARRY Honorary Coach: Rick Barry Head Coach: Bryan Gates TEAM ISIAH
Honorary Coach: Isiah Thomas Head Coach: Kevin Young TEAM PAYTON
Honorary Coach: Gary Payton Head Coach: Chris Quinn TEAM WORTHY
Honorary Coach: James Worthy Head Coach: Malik Allen SKILLS CHALLANGE TEAM CAVS - Winner
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