NBA All-Star Saturday Night often offers the most entertainment of the weekend, so what do we need to see in 2017?
The whole of NBA All-Star Weekend offers a full three days worth of fun for fans. Starting with the Rising Stars Challenge all the way through the All-Star Game itself, there’s something every night. However, it’d be dishonest to not say that fans (and likely players as well) have one night that they look forward to more than the rest. That, of course, would be NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
With a full slate that includes the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and the grand finale of the Slam Dunk Contest, of course NBA All-Star Saturday Night is going to be a favorite among everyone. Those are three of the more memorable and potentially historic events of each All-Star Weekend. Naturally putting them all on one night makes that night must-see action.
Even so, not all NBA All-Star Saturday Nights are created equal. We enjoyed an all-timer last year as Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine dueled to the bitter end in the dunk contest, stealing the show. How can Saturday night in New Orleans, LA rival what happened a year ago? These five things happening at All-Star Saturday Night would certainly put it close.
5. Kristaps Porzingis winning Skills Challenge
Especially given the recent events with Charles Oakley and owner James Dolan, the New York Knicks can often be a chore to watch. That’s the case for a number of reasons of course, but one of the most frustrating aspects is watching how second-year big man Kristaps Porzingis is used. It’s obvious to anyone watching that he should be the focal-point of everything that the Knicks do. Instead, fans are forced to watch Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony dominate the ball largely and Porzingis is then relegated to being a de facto third option.
Luckily, Porzingis will be on display for at least one part of the NBA All-Star Weekend and on Saturday night as he’ll take part in the Skills Challenge. Even with Karl-Anthony Towns winning the whole thing last year, it’s going to be surreal to watch a 7-foot-3 player with the build of Porzingis competing in an event that highlights ball-handling, passing and shooting. They don’t call him a unicorn for nothing, though.
There’s a viable chance that the bigs in the Skills Challenge could go back-to-back with those competing. However, with the singular figure that Porzingis represents, it would be fantastic to see him win it. Not only, again, would it be fantastic to watch a man with his body type and with his size win, but it would be a treat for the fans at home and in house—with the latter likely going wild at the victory.
4. DeAndre Jordan re-creating his dunk over Brandon Knight
One of the subplots of NBA All-Star Saturday Night is the fact that fans won’t get the rematch between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon. Due to an injury to the former, only Gordon will be returning from the memorable above-the-rim showdown one year ago. Joining Gordon will be Derrick Jones (we’ll get there), Glenn Robinson III and DeAndre Jordan. The Los Angeles Clippers center obviously stands out among that group.
While none of the four participants are small by any measure, Jordan is by far the most traditional big man of the bunch. In years past, we’ve seen centers struggle largely when it comes to the Slam Dunk Contest. Even athletic players such as Andre Drummond just simply don’t have the hangtime necessary to pull off the things that bouncier players are able to. While Jordan may not have that same problem to the same degree, it’s hard to imagine him competing with at least Gordon and Jones in that regard.
Subsequently, Jordan has to be creative with what he pulls out. In doing so, he should reach back into his highlight-reel and recreate his most memorable dunk.
Jordan’s dunk from March 2013 over then Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Knight is one of the most iconic moments of his career. The internet rightfully melted down over the alley-oop throwdown that eviscerated the guard. If he could get Knight to agree to it, trying his best to recreate that moment would be a fantastic call-back for Jordan and a chance for him to get an upper hand when his size might cause him limitations.
3. DeMarcus Cousins taking Skills Challenge way too seriously
Last year’s Skills Challenge was the first time since its inception that fans were treated to the Bigs vs. Smalls style format as forwards and centers competed alongside the normal participants: guards. In a stunning turn of events, it was then-rookie Karl-Anthony Towns that ultimately walked away victorious after taking down Isaiah Thomas — a man he’s almost a foot-and-a-half taller than — in the finals of the Skills Challenge.
While Towns won’t be defending his crown, we do again get DeMarcus Cousins back competing. Many could argue that the versatility (and antics) of the Sacramento Kings are one of the reasons why the Skills Challenge now has big men involved. However, the fact that Cousins has a tendency to be (to put it nicely) a bit enigmatic at times also makes him a wild card of sorts in the event.
The hope of hopes for the Skills Challenge, even more so than the Knicks’ Latvia sensation winning should be for Cousins to look at Towns winning last year and approaching the competition at 110 percent. Fans need a moment of Cousins taking a silly obstacle course far too seriously. Whether that means he misses a pass and starts punching the air in frustration or just him being way more into it than anyone else involved, it needs to happen. We’d be robbed of fantastic fun if it didn’t.
2. Nick Young celebrating made 3s mid-3-Point Contest
Perhaps one of the most beloved NBA GIFs of all-time is Nick Young celebrating a missed 3-point attempt prematurely because he thinks it’s going to fall. The essence of the self-proclaimed Swaggy P could not be more perfectly embodied than in those several frames. While that may be so, the Los Angeles Lakers guard has enjoyed arguably the best season of his career in 2016-17 to this point and now is in the 3-Point Contest.
Clearly it would be great to see Young win the contest overall. With how streaky of a shooter the USC product is, it’s also not out of the question. If he goes on a run, he has the shooting ability to overtake the rest of the field in the showdown. While that may be the case, though, the most notable desire is far more simple. All anyone in this world should want is for Young to make a three early in a round and then not be able to resist the urge to celebrate the make.
Just imagine the glory that fans could behold in that moment. In a contest where there are often multiple participants that don’t make it through all 25 shots because the time is so constraining, there is a viable chance that Nick Young could celebrate a make at any point. That’s fascinating, amazing, and all that NBA fans could ever ask for.
Let’s just hope that Swaggy P doesn’t get carried away and actually makes it past the third rack of balls should he choose to celebrate at all.
1. Derrick Jones upsetting Aaron Gordon in Slam Dunk Contest
As much as everyone should be looking forward to the antics of Nick Young in the 3-Point Contest, no one is going to mistake any other competition as the main event for NBA All-Star Saturday Night. The Slam Dunk Contest is the main attraction and has been for some time. However, there is a growing concern that the 2017 installment of the contest won’t live up to 2016’s and that it could ultimately wind up being relatively boring.
That’s why Phoenix Suns rookie forward Derrick Jones Jr. needs to rise up — pun intended — to the occasion and put forth a star-making performance in the contest.
With Zach LaVine sidelined due to injury, the epic second chapter of his dunking duel with Aaron Gordon won’t take place. Though all four guys competing are talented and able to do some incredible things in the air, the fact that the rematch is not longer in play makes you wonder if this Slam Dunk Contest could be a runaway. Jones eliminates that possibility.
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You’re not alone if you’re unfamiliar with the 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward out of UNLV. He’s played in only seven games in his rookie season at a clip of just 3.4 minutes per game. However, the young man can absolutely fly, so much so that his dunking ability made him a YouTube sensation. Even then, though, no one knows fully what to expect from Jones on the big stage. With the need for drama and competition following LaVine’s exit from the contest, Jones could provide that. In the process, he also has the prowess to both win the contest and make a name for himself as well.