Golden State Warriors Heat Up Chilly Toronto During All-Star Weekend
By Ryan Viera
With All-Star weekend in the rear view mirror, we reflect back on the Golden State Warriors significant presence during the festivities.
Every year, one weekend in the middle of February is a special weekend for NBA fans. However, before 2013, this weekend held little importance in the hearts of Golden State Warrior fans. This weekend is known as NBA All-Star Weekend, and until recently, the Warriors had little to no presence during this annual event.
Until David Lee made the All-Star team in 2013, a Warrior hadn’t been selected as an All-Star since Latrell Sprewell was an All-Star for the third time in 1997. After that, the only Warriors involved in All-Star Weekend were not All-Stars. Jason Richardson appeared in the dunk contests three years in a row, and even won the event back-to-back in 2002 and 2003. Stephen Curry appeared in the three-point shoot out in 2010, and took home the Skills-Challenge trophy in 2011, the same year teammate Dorell Wright was a participant in the three-point shoot out. Up until now, Warriors’ at All-Star weekend have been few and far between, but as their success increased, so did their All-Star presence.
This year, the Warriors are in the middle of having the best season in NBA history, so it is no surprise that they received an enormous amount of recognition during the break. Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Curry were all elected into the All-Star game, with Curry earning his 3rd consecutive start, as voted by the fans. The honors didn’t end there as all three were selected to participate in different events during the All-Star Saturday Night event, which has become perhaps more entertaining than the game itself. Thompson was selected to represent Golden State in the Three-Point Contest, while his back court mate and fellow splash brother was back to defend his crown as three-point king after winning the event last year.
Surprisingly, the NBA decided to include big men in this years Skills Challenge, which is usually composed of the leagues best ball handling and passing guards. Not so surprisingly, Green was selected to participate, which is thanks in no small part to the ten triple doubles he posted before the break.
The Taco Bell Skills Challenge was the first event on Saturday night, and Green was the first to go. He was matched up with a fellow big man, Minnesota Timberwolves center,Karl-Anthony Towns. Draymond took an early lead, making most of his passes on the first try, however it came down to a final three-point shot. Green, who is shooting a career-best 42 percent from deep was a step ahead going in to the final shot. Towns, who is shooting 37.5 percent from deep this season, didn’t let his deficit faze him as he hit the first shot attempt, knocking Green out of the competition. Towns went on to defeat guard Isaiah Thomas in the final round, winning the competition.
Next up was the Footlocker Three-Point Shootout. Both splash brothers were chosen as participants, and both proved that their dead-eye shooting in games translates well to the sometimes unnatural motion of picking the ball up off the rack before shooting. The final round came down to the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, Thompson and Curry. Booker put up 16 points in the final round, posting the score to beat, however, Curry quickly took that down posting his best round of the night with 23 points.
Thompson, who earned the right to go last, caught fire down the stretch, going 19-for-25 for 27 points in the final round, defeating his teammate for the title. Thompson shot a scorching 74 percent for the competition, well above the 42 percent he is shooting from deep this season. After the shootout, Thompson said that he was just happy to compete against his teammate.
“The fact that I got to go up against Steph in the finals again, it was like deja vu,” Thompson told reporters, “Back-to-back years for the ‘Splash Brothers,'” Thompson said. “It’s pretty cool.”
On Sunday night, all three Warriors All-Stars got together for the marquee event of the weekend, the All-Star Game. Curry had the best outing, likely due to the minutes he played (nearly 30), as well as his 10-for-18 shooting performance. He finished second on the Western Conference team in scoring with 26 points, and also dished out six assists and grabbed five boards.
Next: Why the Warriors Won't Land Kevin Durant in Free-Agency
His teammates weren’t as big of a factor in their limited minutes. Thompson tallied just nine points on his three-for-11 shooting in 21 minutes. Green, who played 12 minutes, scored four points and shot 33 percent from the field. He did, however, manage to grab five rebounds.
As for the players not on the Warriors roster, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook took home MVP honors for the second straight year after posting 31 points, five rebounds and eight assists. His play was just as spectacular as his stat line as he threw down numerous jaw-dropping dunks during the defenseless first half. Paul George from the Eastern Confrence nearly broke Wilt Chamberlain‘s All-Star game record of 42 points. George finished the night with 41 points thanks to Green’s lock up defense in the final minutes.
The highlight of the night, however, may have come in the final seconds with the West’s victory well in hand. With under 10 seconds left, Curry could have dribbled the clock out and accepted the victory. Instead, he swished this three pointer standing one step inside half court. The West ended up winning the game 196-173, in the highest scoring All-Star game in NBA history.