Fansided

The five best NBA All-Star Game performances ever

By Luke Norris

Kobe Bryant (L) of the L.A. Lakers playing for the West team, scores as East Team's LeBron James of the Miami Heat tries to block during the All-Stars Game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 20, 2011. The game won by the West team 148-143 is the 60th NBA All-Star Game showdown between the Eastern and Western conference superstars. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (L) of the L.A. Lakers playing for the West team, scores as East Team's LeBron James of the Miami Heat tries to block during the All-Stars Game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 20, 2011. The game won by the West team 148-143 is the 60th NBA All-Star Game showdown between the Eastern and Western conference superstars. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Kobe Bryant, left, is grabbed by LeBron James as he controls the ball late in the second half of the NBA All Star Game at Staples Center. (Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant, left, is grabbed by LeBron James as he controls the ball late in the second half of the NBA All Star Game at Staples Center. (Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) /

3. Kobe Bryant/Lebron James — 2011

Okay, I’m copping out a bit on this one by choosing both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James from the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, but they were both so amazing that I just couldn’t choose between the two.

On one hand, you’ve got LeBron James, who was playing in his first All-Star Game as a member of the Miami Heat, and he just did what LeBron James does. He was scoring, he was rebounding, he was finding his teammates and just being….well, LeBron James. When all was said and done, he had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, making him just the second player in NBA All-Star Game history to record a triple-double. The first was Michael Jordan in 1997 and Dwyane Wade, who just barely missed this list, messed around and got himself one in 2012. But it wasn’t quite good enough as the East lost the game, 148-143.

And why exactly did the East lose this game? Well, Kobe Bryant might have had a little something to do with that. Okay, Kevin Durant might have had something to do with it as well. He did score 37 points that night but he was overshadowed at Staples Center that night by Kobe, who wowed the L.A. crowd with 37 points of his own, including 21 in the first half, to go along with 14 rebounds, with 10 of those coming on the offensive end. He also had three assists and three steals and walked away with his fourth All-Star MVP trophy that night, tying him with Bob Pettit for the most in history.

Bryant also won the MVP in 2002, 2007 and 2009 and sits in second place on the all-time NBA All-Star Game scoring list with 290 total points. LeBron James currently has 291.

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