NBA All-Star Weekend is finally upon us.
The next three days in New Orleans at Smoothie King Center will be filled with competitive events involving the young stars on the rise in the NBA facing off on Friday followed by varies skills competitions on Saturday and the league’s elite players going head-to-head on Sunday in the All-Star Game.
With a number of different events set to take place in the next three days, we decided to make predictions for our Lakers Nation Roundtable this week.
Our expert panel will go through every major event set to take place during All-Star Weekend and pick who we believe will come out on top and will also talk about which event they’re looking forward to the most. Our panel will predict the winners and MVPs of the following events:
BBVA Rising Stars Challenge
Taco Bell Skills Challenge
JBL Three-Point Shootout
Verizon Slam Dunk Contest
NBA All-Star Game
For all the dates, times, and details for these events on NBA All-Star Weekend: Click Here
Nick Torres (@Nickotee)
Rising Stars MVP: Devin Booker
Skills Challenge: DeMarcus Cousins
Three-Point Contest: Eric Gordon
Dunk Contest: Aaron Gordon
All-Star Game MVP: James Harden
The event I’m looking most forward to is the Skills Challenge. I think its awesome that we get to see players of all positions display their ability to run, pass, dribble, and shoot. Big men in today’s NBA are some of the most skilled players on the court; like Marc Gasol or DeMarcus Cousins. The guards who are participating have also played extremely well this season, especially John Wall and Isaiah Thomas. It is going to be fun to see all of them compete for bragging rights as the Skills Challenge champion. This year I believe either Cousins or Anthony Davis will claim victory. Both can handle the basketball very well and give the guards a run for their money.
Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand)
Rising Stars Challenge MVP: Devin Booker
Skills Challenge: John Wall
Three-Point Contest: Klay Thompson
Dunk Contest: Derrick Jones Jr.
All-Star Game MVP: Stephen Curry
NBA All-Star Weekend is always one of my favorite weekends of the year. I am looking forward to seeing all the events, but if I had to pick the one, other than the All-Star game itself, then this year I would have to say the Rising Stars Challenge.
The field for that game in 2017 is loaded, so I’m really looking forward to seeing D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram play alongside and against some of the league’s best young talent like Karl Anthony-Towns, Devin Booker, Kristaps Porzingis and Nikola Jokic. I’m a little bummed that Joel Embiid is not playing, though.
Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane)
Rising Stars Challenge MVP: Devin Booker
Skills Challenge: Isaiah Thomas
Three-Point Contest: Nick Young
Dunk Contest: Aaron Gordon
All-Star Game MVP: Stephen Curry
The All-Star Weekend competition that I am most looking forward to is unquestionably the Three-Point Contest. It’s always exciting (compared to the hit-or-miss dunk contest) and the fact that Nick Young is participating certainly helps.
It’s February, and I’m still completely mesmerized by Young’s story. He seemed to be a sure thing to be cut from the team last summer, but not only did he manage to avoid the ax, but he also won himself a starting job in the process. His improvement this season has been incredible to watch, and it feels like it has all been building up to his selection to take part in the Three-Point Contest. He’s a long shot, as the lift he gets on his jumper makes him ill-suited for the competition, but if he overcomes the odds again, it will mean redemption in front of the entire league. I can’t wait to see it.
Corey Hansford (@TheeCoreyH)
Rising Stars Challenge MVP: D’Angelo Russell
Skills Challenge: Anthony Davis
Three-Point Contest: Eric Gordon
Dunk Contest: Aaron Gordon
All-Star Game MVP: James Harden
D’Angelo had a great showing in last year’s rookie game, and I believe he will be looking to make a statement this year, especially with his passing, I could see him getting over 15 assists in this. I’m really looking forward to the Dunk Contest to see what Aaron Gordon can come up with, and James Harden is on such a roll this year I see him walking away with the MVP.
I’m most looking forward to the Three-Point Contest because this is an excellent field. Obviously Nick Young is who I’m rooting for, and I could see him either having a great showing or posting the lowest score. It’s tough to bet against Klay, but Eric Gordon is a real dark horse who can get as hot as anybody in the league.
Eric Avakian (@EAvakian5)
Rising Stars Challenge MVP: Karl Anthony-Towns
Skills Challenge: John Wall
Three-Point Contest: Klay Thompson
Dunk Contest: Derrick Jones Jr.
All-Star Game MVP: Anthony Davis
While the Dunk Contest brings about a lot of creativity and unseen antics from unknown players like Derrick Jones Jr., the Three-Point Contest is a star-studded event, featuring perhaps one of the most competitive fields. Klay Thompson and Nick Young are certainly two of the more streaky shooters, as I see either of those players setting a record this weekend if they can catch fire.
The All-Star Game is always a great scrimmage contest to watch, featuring the elite players in the NBA. While the MVP usually isn’t given consideration until about halfway through the first half, I believe that Anthony Davis will be gunning for that MVP trophy.
With the weekend festivities set in New Orleans, Davis already announced to Kristen Ledlow on NBA TV that his goal this weekend is to take home that All-Star MVP trophy for his city, no matter how many shots he has to get up. Davis was recently ranked the top player under 25 years old by ESPN, with a physicality and uniqueness that can’t be matched.
