Atlanta Hawks Guard Trae Young during the Kia Skills Competition.
For the first time in 39 years, All Star Saturday Night returned to Indianapolis, Indiana with much skill, excitement and high flying dunks, just as it was decades ago.
Team Pacers Win All Star Skills Challenge:
To kick off the night, Team Pacers (representing their hometown team of Indianapolis) displayed some of the best skills in the world during the 2024 NBA All Star Skills Challenge. The group was led by emerging point guard Tyrese Haliburton and his teammates Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner, who were all crowned champions.
According to Real GM, Team Pacers defeated Team All-Stars in a halfcourt-shot shootout tiebreaker to decide the event champion. Team All-Stars consisted of Trae Young, Tyrese Maxey and Scottie Barnes.
Team 1st Picks finished in third in the event. This team featured Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama.
Lillard Wins Three Point Title For A Second Year In a Row:
After draining a last second clutch three-pointer that brought the crowd to an uproar, Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard was crowned Three-point Champion for a second year in a row.
The point guard out of Weber State University, won last year’s contest with Portland of the Western Conference and would later join Milwaukee a year later and win the contest as an Eastern Conference representative.
According to NBA.com, Lillard became a back-to-back 3-point champion competition winner after edging Trae Young with the last shot on the last rack.
Mac McClung Repeats as Slam Dunk Champion:
In one of the most controversial dunk contest endings, guard Mac McClung repeated as champion of the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, according to Real GM.
McClung defeated Jaylen Brown in the final. His final dunk drew the only perfect score of the night, Real GM added. Saturday night’s (February 17) NBA All-Star Weekend event for some fans ended in joy, laughter and fun at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
