Had a brief hiatus last week, but the Top 10 is back this week with the Top 10 moments from the All-Star weekend. The weekend s was filled with tons of greats moments and a few lows, but in the end the NBA delivered what was probably the best All-Star weekend in years, so lets get on with the top 10.
I don't know what Kobe had in his Gatorade that night, but he looked like he was 25 again on Sunday night with not only one but four ferocious dunks. One was his classic reverse dunks going baseline, the other was a basic reverse of a Ginobli feed, then there was the one in transition off, but the one that'll stick out the most in the minds of the fans worldwide was when he was able to avoid Lebron's patented chase-down block and finish with two hands on the break.
2. The Show-Stopper:
If you don't know by now the two best dunks in last Saturday's dunk contest came from the two guys who didn't make it into the final round. One on those dunks was from the Raptors very own DeMar DeRozan. The fact that he was able to complete this in only one attempt still surprises me. Simply put this dunk would go down as one of the greatest ever in the history of the Slam Dunk contest. You can see for yourself here, and may i just say that it looks even better in slow motion.
3. Lebron's Triple Double:
Though the All-star game is mostly for fun and the fans enjoyment, we usually see some guys puts up some amazing numbers in the game, and Lebron did exactly that. With the East trailing by quite a margin for most of the game, he would lead the charge to get them back into the game and in the process record only the second triple double in the history of the All-Star game with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. If you're wondering the only other payer to do so was Michael Jordan.
4. Serging From the FT line:
As mentioned earlier, the two best dunks in the Dunk Contest came from the two participants who didn't advance to the final round. The first dunk was DeMar's Show-Stopper, the second was by Serge Ibaka who actually took off from the FT line. This dunk has been attempted in past contests, but everyone had usually either stepping inside of the FT line or had a foot on the line. Serge on the other hand took off from behind the line as was able to complete the dunk. As a 6'10" 235lbs guy, that is really impressive considering not even MJ was able to take off from as far as he did, no offense to MJ. Here's another look at the flight from the Congo to the NBA.
5. I Believe I Can Fly:
So the hype from All-Star Saturday night revolved around Blake Griffin jumping over a car, a KIA to be exact. Well he didn't necessary fly, or really jump over a car, but rather he did jump over the hood of a car, and that has to count for something right. Though the end result wasn't what many had expected as the dunk was rather weak, but the whole theatrics leading up to the dunk really sold it pretty well. From Kenny Smith having his own sermon to a random choir showing up and singing that R. Kelly hit, "I Believe I Can Fly" the lead-up to the dunk was phenomenal too bad the dunk wasn't that great. Either way it was still one of the best moments of the weekend.
6. Blair off the Backboard Dunk:
The Rookie-Sophomore is usually filled with amazing dunks each year, and this year was no different. One of those dunks came when big man DeJuan Blair threw the ball off the backboard in transition and went to and threw one down. These kind of dunks are amazing no matter who does them but when a center does it with so much ease it just stands out more.
7. Harden throws down the vicious Windmill:
Harden made his name known this season when he threw down a vicious dunk in the grill of J.J Hickson earlier in the season, and he was back to dunking again in the Rookie-Sophomore game. The differences between the dunk on Hickson and this one are that he didn't have Hickson to posterize this time and he added a windmill, other than those he still threw it down viciously.
8. Skills and Scholarships:
Going into the weekend everyone was talking about how either Rose, Paul or Westbrook was going to win the Skills Competition. In the end it was Stephen Curry who walked away as the best PG that night and in the process he won some scholarship money for the gril he represent as each participate represented a separate individual. This was a pretty classy move by the NBA as they are rewarding kids for their work in the community unlike the NHL who would rather give the last guy selected in the All-Star fantasy draft a new car. Just saying.
9. Wall drops 22 dimes:
Kinda seems like this list is being dominated by the Rookie-Sophomore game. Helping the the rookies take down the sophomores for the second straight year, John Wall had an astonishing 22 assists which broke the previous record of 17 by Chris Paul in 2007. Whether it was bounce alley-oop passes to Blake or kicking out to the open man, Wall was doing it all and also walked away with the MVP trophy that night.
10. Halftime Performance:
Simply put Rihanna put on a show in that halftime perfance which featured Drake as well as Kanye, and one again showed why the NBA has the best All-Star weekend of all the sports.
Well there you have it, the top 10 moments from the past All-Star weekend. Can't believe it has already come and gone and how the long wait for next year's events begins. I may have forgotten some plays, but those were the ones that stuck out to me, so if there's anything I did forget feel free to chime in in the comments. Tune in next week for another installment.
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