NBA All-Star Weekend is in full swing. On Friday night, the celebrity game gave way to a revamped Rising Stars challenge, where Detroit Pistons rookie and Rising Stars MVP Cade Cunningham led Team Barry to the title in the new four-team tournament.
The Rising Stars wasn’t the only All-Star event to get a tweak. Saturday night’s skills challenge featured three squads of three — Team Cavs, Team Antetokounmpo and Team Rooks — battling for the title. Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley drained a half-court shot to give the home team a final-round win over the rookies, while Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and brothers Thanasis and Alex finished third.
The 3-point contest saw Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns set a final-round record with 29 points to become the first big man to win the title since Kevin Love in 2012. And in the dunk contest, the New York Knicks‘ Obi Toppin outdueled the Golden State Warriors‘ Juan Toscano-Anderson to take home the hardware.
Which stars shined brightest in Cleveland? We’re grading every participant during All-Star Saturday night.
MORE: Grading every player in the Rising Stars Challenge
Dunk contest: Toppin takes flight
Obi Toppin, New York Knicks
Grade: B+
Results
Dunk contest champion
Analysis
On a night remembered more for the dunks that were missed than those that were made, Toppin was the most consistent performer from start to finish, scoring at least a 44 on all four of his attempts.
Toppin opened with a dunk in which he leaped over dunk coach Chuck Millan while going behind his back, which he converted for a 44. He followed that with a windmill between his legs that might have been his best dunk if thrown down cleanly with power. Instead, Toppin pulled off an athletic move to adjust in midair and finish softly.
In the finals, Toppin tried to convert a dunk unlike any we’ve seen before, putting the ball high on the square then into the basket. After two misses, he audibled to an impressive finish off the glass for a windmill in between his legs, leading TNT broadcaster Brian Anderson to ask incredulously, “Was that his safe dunk?”
With an insurmountable lead, Toppin went back to his original third design and put it in on his first attempt, drawing the night’s highest score (47) to finish things off in style.
Juan Toscano-Anderson, Golden State Warriors
Grade: B-
Results
Eliminated in final round
Analysis
Wearing a customized Warriors jersey with the Mexican flag on his numbers and matching shoes to honor his mother’s heritage, Toscano-Anderson earned his way to the finals with two solid dunks. On his first try, he jumped over Golden State teammate Andrew Wiggins (pushing off the 6-foot-8 Wiggins’ shoulders) with a windmill. Toscano-Anderson then converted a 270-degree up-and-under to eliminate Jalen Green.
In the finals, Toscano-Anderson’s vision didn’t come to fruition. His third dunk saw him try to put his elbow in the rim, Vince Carter-style, but Toscano-Anderson couldn’t get enough air. The rules worked against him, since Toscano-Anderson wasn’t able to retry a successful dunk and got a paltry score of 39.
Needing an incredible final dunk, Toscano-Anderson put on a Jason Richardson jersey in homage to the former Warriors guard who won legendary back-to-back dunk contests in 2002 and 2003. Trying one of Richardson’s iconic dunks — a bounce pass into a left-hand windmill between his legs that Richardson finished backward for a perfect 50 — Toscano-Anderson went 0-for-3 and was consigned to second place with a score of 30.
Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
Grade: C+
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
The pre-competition favorite, Green suffered from his difficulty putting down his first dunk. Green was trying to get a pass off the backboard from fellow Rockets rookie Josh Christopher for what would have been a thrilling dunk starting out of bounds in the corner. After two misses and several non-attempts, Green switched to a safer windmill off an underhand lob that got the lowest score (38) of any completed attempt in the first round.
In a hole at that point, Green didn’t score enough points (45) to advance with what might have been on paper the most impressive dunk of the round: a between-the-legs 360 dunk he finished going away from the basket.
Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic
Grade: C
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
Unfortunately, Anthony’s showmanship was ahead of his results. For the night’s first dunk, Anthony played to the crowd by donning the No. 50 Knicks jersey of his father, Greg, and trading out his sneakers for a pair of Timberland boots. Grabbing the ball off his father’s hands, he needed two non-attempts before putting down a left-hand windmill for a score of 40.
After banging his thumb on the rim on his first attempt, Anthony was unable to convert his second dunk as he tried a 360-degree windmill off the bounce. Because Anthony went 0-for-3 on his official tries, the judges awarded him the minimum score of 30 and he was eliminated.
3-point contest: KAT catches fire from deep
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Grade: A
Results
3-point contest champion
Analysis
A dominant performance in the finals saw Towns put up the second-highest score in 3-point contest history (29), trailing only Stephen Curry’s score last year. Towns benefited from the extra points under the recent changes to the rules, going 4-of-5 on his money rack and making one of two deep shots in the finals, but he was plenty dominant under any format with 4-of-5 accuracy on each of his other first three racks before slowing at the finish. In the opening round, Towns made four of his last five shots to advance, taking advantage of his extra time to shimmy his shoulders and set for the final triple. At 6-foot-11, Towns joined 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki as the second winner taller than 6-foot-10.
Luke Kennard, LA Clippers
Grade: A
Results
Eliminated in final round
Analysis
Kennard’s combined score of 54 was the night’s highest. Unfortunately, his score of 28 from the opening round, when he went 5-of-5 from the top of the key followed by making his second long-distance attempt, didn’t carry over. Kennard had a good run in the finals, including making five in a row and finishing 4-of-5 on his money rack, but his 26 wasn’t enough to win.
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Grade: A-
Results
Eliminated in final round
Analysis
Young came up clutch to reach the finals after missing his first four shots. As the resident deep-shooting specialist in the competition, he made the first of his two long-distance attempts and the last three from his money rack before eliminating Mills with his final shot. In the final, Young made seven shots in a row, including again hitting a long-distance attempt, and went 4-of-5 on the money rack. Alas, he needed to hit all five to catch Towns. Young realized it and, after hitting his first four on the final rack, chucked his last shot high into the air to finish with 26.
Patty Mills, Brooklyn Nets
Grade: B
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
It wasn’t until the final shot of the first round that Mills was eliminated with a score of 21. It didn’t look like he’d get that close to advancing after missing all five shots on his opening rack, but Mills was the only competitor all night to make both deep shots and also went 4-of-5 on his money rack.
CJ McCollum, New Orleans Pelicans
Grade: B-
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
Back in his native Ohio, McCollum went 5-of-5 from the top of the key and hit the money ball on each of his first four racks. However, he made just one of five attempts on his final money rack, and his score of 19 wasn’t a serious threat to make the finals.
Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies
Grade: B-
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
As the opening competitor, Bane set a decent pace with a score of 18. He hit the first of the two deep 3-pointers but went just 2-of-5 from the money rack, costing him valuable points.
Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
Grade: C
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
Although VanVleet rallied to make his next two attempts after his second of the night bounced awkwardly off the backboard from the left corner, he never got back in contention to advance. VanVleet went just 2-of-5 on his money rack and saw his final shot ruled after the buzzer, leaving him with a score of 16.
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
Grade: C-
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
Making his third consecutive appearance in the contest, LaVine had his lowest score and the lowest of the night with just 14 points. After starting strong by making four of his first five attempts, LaVine missed all four he tried on his final money rack. Time ran out before LaVine could get off the final shot.
Skills contest: Home cooking for Team Cavs
Team Cavs (Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley)
Grade: B+
Results
Skills contest champions
Analysis
The hometown favorites delighted the crowd, with Evan Mobley quickly hitting his first attempt from half court. Although the Cavaliers finished last in the passing round and lost the obstacle course, their shooting carried them. They dominated the shooting competition, with Darius Garland (24 points) outscoring the Antetokounmpos all by himself and Mobley (18 points) posting the second-highest scoring total in the round. And Garland hit his first 3 from the top of the key to win a tiebreaker and send Cleveland to the finals.
Team Rooks (Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Josh Giddey)
Grade: B
Results
Lost in final round
Analysis
When the trio of Barnes, Cunningham and Giddey put up a time of 1:18.5 as the first team in the obstacle course, it seemed unlikely to be good enough to win. However, the course proved more challenging than it appeared and that time comfortably held up, sending the rookies to the finals after they finished a solid second in both of the first two rounds (losing the passing competition on a tiebreaker). It took the rookies a couple of times through the order to hit from half court, costing them the title.
Team Antetokounmpo (Alex, Giannis, Thanasis)
Grade: C
Results
Eliminated after first round
Analysis
The two-time MVP and his brothers (Milwaukee teammate Thanasis and Alex, who plays with the G League’s Toronto 905) won a tiebreaker to take 100 points from the passing competition but were undone by their shooting. They scored a competition-low 20 points in the shooting round, and Thanasis missed on a tiebreaker 3-pointer, allowing Darius Garland to send the Cavs to the championship round.
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