Best NBA All Star Weekend Moments

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The ‘2021 NBA All-Star Weekend’ is here and for the first time in history, the events will be carried out without the pleasure of having fans in the building.

This year’s festivities are taking place in Atlanta, Georgia where the best of the best NBA talent will gather in hopes to provide a product that is up to par with what the league has put on in recent years.

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The NBA all-star game was primarily looked down upon due to how little the players actually invested themselves in the quality of the game, mostly on the defensive side of the ball.

Up until just a few years ago that was the narrative, but with more recognition to how much people actually tune into the game, the players have taken their play up a notch and began to make the all-star game a great spectacle for basketball fans.

A special part about the NBA and its all-star event is their traditional skills competition, three-point contest, and dunk contest. WIth COVID making the NBA turn to a new format for the events in 2021, all of these plus the actual game will be played in a matter of hours on Sunday evening.

Both the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take place pre-game, while the Dunk Contest will be held at halftime of the actual game. The participants for each event are star-studded, to say the least, and that should make for some highly competitive action all night long.

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Prior to tonight’s action, there was an unfortunate exposure to COVID-19 amongst the eastern conference leading Philidelphia 76ers all-stars. MVP candidate Joel Embiid and defensive player of the year favorite Ben Simmons both were exposed to the virus through a mutual team barber, and are not able to take part due to protocols.

Many have crucified the NBA for even putting on the all-star festivities this season with the pandemic still breaking havoc, but commissioner Adam Silver stated in his yearly press conference on Saturday that he believes if done properly, the event can be a great success.

With league revenue at an all-time low, the all-star game is usually a way of the NBA generating more income and stabilizing the long-term financial health of the league. With no fans in the seats for the majority of teams around the league, television and merchandising for this year’s all-star game is essential for the league and its owners.

With all this being said, we should be in for an amazing and entertaining night of mini-games and superstar competition, and if it is anything like years past, maybe it will provide some can’t miss TV.

Here are some of the most memorable moments in the history of the NBA All-Star Weekend, what was your favorite? 

2016 Dunk Contest – Aaron Gordon vs Zach Lavine:

One of the most classic if not the greatest dunk contests in league history, you could not find one person actually sitting in their seats after each and every dunk these players performed.

The judging was skeptical as it usually is, and controversy was aplenty. LaVine and Gordon threw down some of the most creative dunks you’ll ever see in your life, even non-basketball fans would be in awe of this dunk contest. Difficulty and pure athleticism is the best way to describe this faceoff, it had everything.

2000 Dunk Contest – Air Canada’s Takeoff:

Another immortal moment brought to you by the dunk contest, this time rewinding back 21 years to the year 2000, where Toronto Raptors legend Vince ‘Air Canada’ Carter pulled off the amazing.

Many remember it as the famous call of “it’s over ladies and gentlemen” as Vince declared his own victory while staring down the camera after his dunk.

The performance even inspired one of the greatest hip-hop recording artists of the current generation, Drake, to write his own lyrics about the moment; “been going stupid since Vince Carter was on some through-the-legs, arm-in-the-hoop sh*t.”

Fergie performs the national anthem in 2018:

Maybe the funniest moment in all-star history, maybe in the history of the NBA really. For the wrong reasons, the NBA players taking part in the all-star game in 2018 couldn’t contain their laughter as singer Fergie put her own twist on the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

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Of course, the memes that came to life in wake of this performance by one of the most highly regarded female vocalists of the generation were comedy gold, and it was all in good fun.

Making a mockery of any national anthem isn’t the intention, but a little light-hearted laughter by the players as they were shown one by one on live TV trying to refrain from laughing too hard was perfect for anybody who can take a fun joke.

Kobe Bryant’s final all-star game in Toronto, 2016:

Finally, we finish off with the last time NBA legend Kobe Bryant competed in the all-star game in 2016, on Canadian grounds in Toronto.

This weekend was really just a further celebration of the career of Kobe, who may have had the greatest send-off season in league history.

Kobe’s entire family sat behind the western conferences bench as the iconic photograph of Kobe and LeBron James squaring each other up during the game symbolized the passing of a torch, similar to that of MJ/Kobe in 2003.

The NBA all-star festivities are always a great way to see the most laid-back side of players during the ups and downs of a crazy NBA season.

In 2021, it will be no different I’m sure as the event will be held in the mix of the insane times we are living in. Although it may not be the same with the lack of energy from live fans in the building, it will be great to see more moments and memories be made before the home stretch of the regular season kicks off on Wednesday.

Evan Power, Evolution 107.9

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