Grading each event from the NBA’s 2020 All-Star weekend in Chicago

All-Star Game

Ladies and gentlemen, the main attraction of the weekend, the widely-tuned-in event of the season, the All-Star game. This is where some of the best in the league, prove their mettle in a game that has received some upgrades in the past few seasons. Originally, the teams were decided by each player’s respective conference, Eastern and Western. However, that system changed back in 2018, with an updated drafting system.

Every year usually plays out the same, the two teams play a high-scoring game, where players show no effort or defense whatsoever, slowly becoming disliked over the past few years. This year, was 10x more different, a change and repair of the issues that truly was well needed.

This year’s lineup was good, but widely criticized for the notable snubs, including Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine to name a few, but you can’t have them all. Here are the teams that were drafted prior to the match.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1229140894311276544

A roster change was made in the form of Damian Lillard being replaced by Devin Booker after an injury left him out. Obviously, Team LeBron has the talent edge over Team Giannis, which makes you think, what was Giannis Antetokounmpo thinking? We have no clue. Team LeBron was to be coached by Lakers’ coach: Frank Vogel, while Team Giannis was to be coached by Bucks’ coach: Mike Budenholzer.

There was a huge change to the All-Star game that completely changed the game’s rules. I’m not going to explain it because well: it’s still confusing, so here’s the NBA explaining it:

So we were coming into this game, not knowing what was going on, good start. Still, it was a change to the slowly dissolving formula that clearly wasn’t working. Fans want change, and they got it. Let’s see how it went.

How did it go?

One word can truly describe this, Brilliance. This year’s All-Star Game was a tremendous step forward, proving to be successful in every category. Nothing actually was faulted here, this experiment worked. The rule changes proved to be the best decision possible for the NBA, who made the change after Kobe’s passing. This game was the polar opposite to its predecessors, showing actual effort and competitiveness, rather than a boring sight of no effort. Finally, this game had some defense.

The ultimate goal to win and support each team’s respective charity was a great choice to add on behalf of NBA commissioner, Adam Silver. This game was close and every single player was motivated to win and were serious to take home the win. We also saw a great balance of fun and enjoyability, with effort. There was a good balance between proper play and great highlights. Whatever they did, the NBA achieved its goal of success.

In the end, Team LeBron managed to best Team Giannis in a 157-155 nail biter. Team LeBron raised $400,000 for the Chicago Scholars, a kids charity that supports schooling in the area. Team LeBron was led by Kawhi Leonard, who chipped in 30 points, seven rebounds while shooting eight threes in twelve attempts. Giannis Antetokounmpo was a welcome sight, who scored 25 points and grabbed eleven rebounds. Leonard grabbed the game’s MVP award, which has been named the All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP award.

To conclude, this year’s All-Star game has clocked in as possible the greatest All-Star game in the weekend’s 69-year span. This game was something that surprised everyone, it truly signified that change does work when done properly. This game had a great atmosphere and it went down to the wire. Truly, everything was perfect about the game, even though it could have some tiny tweaks here and there, such as not ending on a free thro

The new format suits the All-Star Game and the NBA would be clueless to not continue it. Even if the rules may be confusing, it works out and we watched a game that was actually fun to watch, rather than being a chore.

Overall, a great job by the NBA, truly one of the greatest All-Star games in recent memory.

Grade: A+