![\"Just](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_1717-e1581969652682.jpg\")
<\/a>Just one shot of the actual All-Star Game, with team Captains Giannis Antetokounmpo (in red) and LeBron James (in blue,) showing us that this is no “it doesn’t matter” game! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
I usually love the NBA All-Star Week-end. You know what a fan of basketball I am, and I adore seeing all the different skills, and all the guys cutting loose and having fun, along with discovering some players I\u2019m not that familiar with.<\/p>\n
Most aspects of this 2020 edition were either fun or fabulous or both. But the Slam Dunk Contest, which is looked-upon as the Crown Jewel of All-Star Saturday Night, made me sick this year. It was a whole shameful display on the part of both the judges and the NBA. (Even more shameful is the lack of anyone, outside of Charles Barkley and me, commenting about it the next day! It should have been a major topic of outrage!)<\/p>\n
<\/a>I feel like Beavis and Butthead pointing this out, but I took this picture only because of the placement of Anthony Davis’ head! Classy, right. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
The quick synopsis is this: There are four competitors who each do two dunks in the first round. Then the two highest scores of that quartet move on to the final. Each of those two guys do two more dunks, and whoever has the highest combined score at the end of that is the winner. Period. Easy enough, right?<\/p>\n
Well, Aaron Gordon, (who had been robbed of this same title two years ago, according to everyone who saw it,) and Derrick Jones, Jr. were going head to head. There are five judges, and they can give any whole number score up to10. That means there are no fractions, which would really help all<\/em> the time, and especially in this case.<\/p>\n So both guys had two 50s at the end of those two final rounds. At that point, it should have either been declared a tie, or they could have brought the first<\/em> round scores into the equation, which would have made Aaron Gordon the winner. But no, they made them each do two more<\/em> dunks! I\u2019m sure their home team coaches and owners were not pleased because of the great potential for injury.<\/p>\n So they each did one more dunk which, of course, got them each another 50. So it was coming down to the very last dunks because the powers-that-be over there said that after that, it would either be a fan vote or something else they would figure-out on the spot to determine the winner. It would have been great to give them each<\/em> a trophy, and something interesting for the fans, as well. But God forbid they would do the right thing. I really feel that the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, should have stepped in at that point. But he stayed in the audience, smiling away, which made me lose a tad of respect for him.<\/p>\n So Derrick went first, and scored just a 48, even though it was, once again, a really fabulous dunk. So, in order to win, Aaron would just have to score 49. Now, all of these dunks have been planned by each guy in advance, and if they had one of their pals assisting with it in some way, they have practiced it. But, for his final dunk, Aaron did something unprecedented\u2014he took someone he hadn\u2019t practiced with at all<\/em> to help him, and that someone was fellow player, 7\u20196\u201d Tacco Fall, over whom he jumped and put the ball in the basket! It was beyond spectacular. We here at home, and the TV commentators, all gave him the win, and were just waiting for the scores to come up. We assumed that they would be all 10s; some of the NBA commentators even said it should have been a 12<\/em>, (which they do not have, by the way\u2014the highest score available is 10.)<\/p>\n All the players in attendance were congratulating Aaron Gordon, and then…the scores came up, and he received…a 47!!! I\u2019m still sick to my stomach over that injustice. I swear\u2014the feeling I had when I saw those scores, and it dawned on me that Gordon had not<\/em> won, was very akin to the one I had in 2016 when the Presidential Election results were coming in, and we started realizing that Hillary Clinton<\/em> had not won. It was just about\u00a0that<\/em> awful.<\/p>\n Aaron Gordon, jumping over Tacco Fall!!! And he didn’t win! That’s a shonda!<\/p><\/div>\n I would have loved them to declare it a tie, but if there was one winner, it really needed to be Aaron Gordon. The whole thing put such a damper on the end of the evening. (One judge, Dwyane Wade, said afterwards that the judges planned to give him the same score they had given Derrick Jones, Jr., but one of the three judges who gave him a 9 messed-up. But it should not have come to that.) [Note: By the way, many viewers think that Wade \u201cmessed-up\u201d on purpose because he\u2019s basically a Miami Heat lifer, and Jones currently plays for…the Heat, of course!]<\/p>\n The whole thing was disgusting, but winner Derrick Jones, Jr. really<\/em> disappointed me more than anything. Mr. X and I both assumed that when he received the trophy, he would say that it should be shared with Aaron Gordon, but not only did he not<\/em> do that, but in the post-event press conference, he said he\u2019d be happy to give Aaron a re-match!!! How classless of him.<\/p>\n My own little tribute to former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who passed away on New Year’s Day. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n All that being said, I did<\/em> love the Skills Challenge, (won by surprise All-Star, Bam Adebayo,) and the very exciting Three Point Challenge, won by my favorite NBA player, Buddy Hield, of the Sacramento Kings, (which is why most of you have never even heard of this lovely guy!)<\/p>\n The Friday night Celebrity Game was just a waste of time, with not many real<\/em> celebs this year, (outside of Common and Chance the Rapper.) And that night\u2019s USA vs. the World game, with just first and second year players, was not great, either, outside of seeing amazing rookie Zion Williamson and fabulous sophomore Luca Doncic, who hit an incredible half-courter with two seconds left in the first half. (It doesn\u2019t hurt that he\u2019s gorgeous!)<\/p>\n And then the week-end\u2019s festivities culminated in yesterday’s All-Star Game. Common did great with the teams\u2019 rhyming introductions.\u00a0\u00a0And then Chaka Khan did the most ear-bleed-inducing, self-indulgent National Anthem<\/em> ever!<\/p>\n Kawhi Leonard and his MVP trophy, which was newly named for Kobe Bryant, of course.<\/p><\/div>\n This year brought a new format to the game, which you have to research for yourselves because I\u2019m too drained to explain it. I hate change, and do like the usual way better, (except for it now benefitting charities,) but this was an exciting game, especially the fourth quarter. And it was fair. And the correct player, the Clippers\u2019 Kawhi Leonard, won the MVP trophy, so that was all good.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>