For the first time in 28 years, the eyes of the NBA were focused squarely on Charlotte this weekend for the NBA All-Star Game. There’s not another spectacle in sports quite like it. It’s not so much a game as it is a 72-hour block party if block parties were sponsored by Nike, State Farm, Foot Locker, TISSOT and Flavor Flav.
The game is almost an afterthought; that’s nothing new. But for Charlotte, which hasn’t witnessed so much as a 50-win season in more than two decades, this was the pinnacle of an entire generation of basketball fans’ lives in the Queen City. The winners Sunday night? Team LeBron, which came back to beat Team Giannis 178-164.
But there were many more winners this weekend, and just as many losers. Here they are:
WINNER – J Cole
The All-Star halftime show is reserved for rappers, usually ones that represent their city or state. North Carolina had a tough choice between J Cole and…Petey Pablo? Okay...so it wasn’t tough. But J Cole delivered. Dennis Smith broke out J Cole’s high school jersey for his second dunk on Saturday night, which hyped the crowd enough…but J Cole nearly shut the building down with a dunk of his own.
J. Cole with the dunk attempt pic.twitter.com/j0TR1J626m
— PinPoint (@SportsPinPoint)
February 17, 2019 Damn.
Sunday night was Cole’s night too. I don’t know how it looked on TV, but the halftime show felt like a real moment for Carolina. A banger set and an absolutely perfect outfit, complete with the Hornets’ starter jacket that would sell out in seconds if it popped up on the Internet today.
That throwback jacket looks ------ on you, @JColeNC!#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/fM2oLpiPg2
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets)
February 18, 2019 J Cole owned the weekend.
LOSER – Steve Smith
Eighty-nine looks like he could still go out and get you 100 yards and two touchdowns. But please please please no one make him take a jumper again.
Maybe I should have asked Smitty if he wanted basketball lessons instead ------ pic.twitter.com/T3Kce9jk7g
— Josh Parcell (@JoshParcell)
February 16, 2019 Ice up, son?
WINNER – Dirk
Dirk Nowitzki’s 14th and final All-Star Game couldn’t have gone any better. First off, there was the greatest in-game, these-are-usually-terrible-but-we-have-to-fill-time-somehow video on Saturday night:
Dirk can't retire yet. We need to keep him and Luka together for as long as possible --(via @dallasmavs) pic.twitter.com/aT0xTxFqQA
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)
February 17, 2019 We don’t deserve Dirk and Luka.
Then Sunday, Dirk went OFF. On his first offensive possession, he buried a three. He drained two more in the next few minutes for a season-high three triples. Then he went out on top with some SERIOUS shade at LeBron.
Dirk wanted nothing to do with LeBron #NeverForget2011 pic.twitter.com/vtwrp5LObz
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports)
February 18, 2019 LOSER – The Wright Brothers
Look, I get that the Dunk Contest had absolutely zero star power. We needed something to pump some life into the crowd. Couldn’t roll out a Kia, that’s taken. Mascots on hoverboards was off the table, too.
John Collins tried. He really did. He pulled out a replica of an airplane from 1908 (or something) in a Wright Brothers tribute. It…didn’t work. Rule number one of dunk contest props: DON’T BREAK THE PROPS.
Mission failed:
Just the way John Collins drew it up ... ✈️--#Shaqtin pic.twitter.com/15HJapEKjt
— Shaqtin' a Fool (@shaqtin)
February 17, 2019 My favorite part of the whole thing was the in-arena MC’s reaction: “THAT’S HOW YOU PAY HOMAGE TO NORTH CAROLINA!”
I…don’t…think so.
WINNER – The Black Steph Curry
“Steph Curry is black!”
Shaq: “Well I am known as the black Steph Curry”Kenny: “Steph Curry is black”Shaq: “Steph Curry’s light skinned, I’m black”-------- pic.twitter.com/vGVLSvXZyW
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk)
February 17, 2019 Hands down, the line of the weekend.
LOSER – Lists
It was only a matter of time for an update on DAVIS WATCH 2019 (patent pending). On Friday, it came in the most absurd manner.
We have legitimately hit the PR crisis mode. List? What list? pic.twitter.com/lhCNDDVVwK
— Jorge Sedano (@SedanoESPN)
February 16, 2019 It is absolutely hysterical that Anthony Davis is so lost on how to move on from failing to engineer a trade to the Lakers, that he tried to talk his way out of it by saying he wants to play for 29 teams…but not his own. This should be a bigger PR nightmare for the NBA. Instead, it’s the elixir to sports talk shows everywhere who are thirsty for literally anything to get them through the day in mid-February.
WINNER – Steph to Giannis
I could watch this 100 times and it wouldn’t get old.
every alley-oop thrown to Giannis from now on must go above the TV screen pic.twitter.com/GxkqV2wPMj
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob)
February 18, 2019 LOSER – Tourists
Marcel is speaking the gospel here.
Look, I know y'all ain't from here but someone lied to you if you think lining up for Midnight Diner at 1p is the move.Chicken Coop is right down the street. You're welcome. Bring cash. pic.twitter.com/otpfojnQ6Z
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ)
February 16, 2019 Midnight Diner is a great spot…at midnight. Whoever fed such bad info these completely innocent people should be outed. This is unacceptable behavior.
WINNER – Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson asked for his favorite MJ story: "Favorite MJ story? Man, I don't know. My favorite MJ story is probably just Space Jam. I love that movie. That movie is timeless."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater)
February 16, 2019 LOSER – Klay Thompson
"This is how the rest of the league feels."Steph right in Klay's face --(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/45I80DR9Zy
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)
February 18, 2019 The real winners this weekend? Charlotte. For a fleeting moment, Charlotte was the center of the basketball universe. It felt good. Yes, Kemba flamed out in the three-point contest and was a non-factor in the game itself, not to mention Miles Bridges’ first-round exit in the dunk contest. But for a city that’s starving to be a relevant market in the NBA, it was nice to get a taste of it for a few days. There may not be another All-Star Game in the Queen City for a few decades but hey…at least J Cole should be back before then.
