The Celebrity Game was a tasty appetizer to kick off the festivities at All-Star Weekend in Chicago on Friday night, with a revamped format that was heavy on both the star power and the gimmicks and gave Chi-Town natives Michael Wilbon and Common a chance to shine as they took home the victory and MVP honors.
But the main course was the Rising Stars Challenge, the annual showcase of the best up-and-coming rookies and sophomores the NBA has to offer, as Team World squared off against Team USA. Naturally, it doubled as an excuse for Zion Williamson to put on a show, and the Pelicans rookie didn’t disappoint.
After balking on his first couple of opportunities to slam one home, Zion found his groove on his next two alley oops, both courtesy of fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Ja Morant, the second of which was off a gorgeous between the legs lob.
👀 Ja Morant with the between the legs lob to Zion!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 15, 2020
JA BETWEEN THE LEGS TO ZION pic.twitter.com/NWn1o5XvKm
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) February 15, 2020
And they weren’t the only ones putting on a show. Luka Doncic, who returned recently after missing two weeks with an injury, was looking spry as ever, especially on this halfcourt heave over Trae Young going into halftime, which even Young couldn’t help but enjoy.
Trae and Luka watching that shot go in pic.twitter.com/fxcdLpOLEu
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) February 15, 2020
The officials also had to use the halftime break to fix the rim that Zion brutalized during the first half.
The Zion effect 🤯💪
(via @PelicansNBA) pic.twitter.com/JuFTPhFY8K
— ESPN (@espn) February 15, 2020
Once the second half got underway, Miles Bridges got in on the action with this Tracy McGrady-esque lob to himself off the glass.
MILES BRIDGES. pic.twitter.com/QueZxTHlJ0
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) February 15, 2020
And in the end, it was Bridges who took home MVP honors on the night with a 20-point effort, as the USA got the win and bragging rights for the next year. Bridges also took the opportunity at halftime to weigh on the social media debate of the day regarding airplane seats.
Miles Bridges wasn’t messing around!
At the half, he tweeted this out.
At the end of the game, he won Rising Stars MVP pic.twitter.com/A274eLcosm
— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 15, 2020
In the end, it was a reasonably entertaining night, and nobody got hurt, so we’ll chalk this one up as a win for everyone involved.
