NBA All-Star weekend is set to take place in about a month’s time. The best basketball players in the world will become the most interesting thing about Cleveland, Ohio from February 18-20.

In today’s blog, we make our picks for who we think should be participating in the 3 main events: The Dunk Contest, the 3-Point Contest, and the All-Star Game. You might be asking yourself, what about the Skills Challenge? We would answer that by saying that literally nobody cares about the skills challenge, so we didn’t include it. If you are offended by this, we are not sorry.

4 participants in the Dunk Contest. 6 participants in the 3-Point Contest. 12 players from each conference make up the rosters for the All-Star Game. For the Dunk Contest, we are doing no repeat contestants for the sake of this blog. We’d love to see Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon compete again, but it’s not going to happen. So we’re picking first timers only. The 3-Point Contest is whoever we want to see/think should do it. It doesn’t matter how many times they’ve done it before. For the All-Star Game, we are following the NBA rules for who will be on each roster. We both agree it’s stupid, but we will follow their rules nonetheless. Each conference has 2 starting guards and 3 starting forwards. Each conference has 2 guards and 3 forwards on their bench. And finally, each conference has 2 wild cards, which mean that the last 2 All-Stars we select can be whatever position we want. The idiotic part is who the NBA defines as a guard or forward, since they don’t allow anybody to be classified as both. Anthony Edwards, for example, is defined as a SG and a SG only. He plays a majority of his minutes at SF. He is the Timberwolves starting SF. But he is only eligible as a guard, which significantly reduces his chances of making the All-Star Game.

Anyways, enough explaining. Let’s dive straight into the Dunk Contest.

Dunk Contest

Ryan

Contestants: Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Russell Westbrook, and Jonathan Kuminga

Now remember. This is my vote. This is who I want to see. Not who I think will actually do it. I highly doubt any of these 4 will do it. You just never see the big names in the Dunk Contest anymore. It’s a real shame, because these 4 would be absolutely electric. Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (how is it not called the Q anymore?) would be BUZZING!

As a Timberwolves fan, Anthony Edwards is an obvious choice. Right Gabe Vincent?

This dunk was wiped off the board and called a charge, which is beyond dumb. How can he possibly blow the whistle and call a charge when his jaw should be on the ground? Unbelievable. But in all seriousness, this dunk perfectly illustrates Anthony Edwards’ aggression and athleticism. The thing that stands out to me is how viciously Ant throws his dunks down. He doesn’t care who is between him and the rim. Ant is a threat to end somebody’s career every time he drives the lane.

Ja Morant is quite possibly the most entertaining player in the NBA to watch. And man, the kid can fly. If you don’t understand why I want to see him in the Dunk Contest, watch this highlight video of 21 of his best dunks, and then get back to me.

Russell Westbrook is the budget Anthony Edwards when it comes to dunking. Much like Ant, he viciously attacks the rim. But Ant throws it down with more force. I legit think he may break a rim one of these nights. Russ would be fun to watch, but I don’t think he’d beat Ja or Ant. Kuminga is the wild card here. He’s an ultra-athletic 19-year-old who can jump through the roof. He’s got a 7-foot wingspan and a 38-inch vertical leap. You rarely see guys as big and lengthy as Kuminga jump that high. This kid would be entertaining, but again, I think this would be the Ant vs. Ja show. I think they would just get 50 after 50 after 50. They would have to just be named co-champs, or the judges would have to make up some rule on the spot, such as only getting one attempt per turn. This would be by far the best Dunk Contest since LaVine vs. Gordon 1.

Ben

Contestants: Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Gary Payton II, and Scottie Barnes

Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant are the two guys everyone wants to see in the Dunk Contest, but they’re also the guys who everyone knows won’t participate. They’ve already put so many air miles on their legs this season, they’re both eligible for Frequent Flyer rewards. What I will do is link the video of my favorite dunk attempt from Edwards and Morant, respectively. Notice how I didn’t just say “dunk”, but rather “dunk attempt”. Let me explain why I made that clarification.

Anthony Edwards’ detonation on Gabe Vincent (which Ryan has already linked in his segment) is my favorite dunk of his career so far, a dunk so vicious the referees actually took pity on the victim at the scene of the crime and ruled the play an offensive foul. I have no doubt that if this dunk took place in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter, the NBA’s official 2 minute report would state that the referees should have overturned the call on the floor due to their violation of the “that’s just way too cool to call that” clause in the NBA rulebook. I promise you this clause is real, just don’t Google it.

My favorite Ja Morant dunk attempt was his failed conquest of Kevin Love. The AUDACITY to try and pull this dunk off in a real game is equal parts hilarious and impressive. In an ideal world, Kevin Love emerges from the shadows on the night of the Dunk Contest like Stone Cold Steve Austin and stands in that same spot in Cleveland for Ja Morant to avenge his miss by soaring over him and slamming it home.

My final two spots go to my two favorite dunkers from the season so far; Golden State’s 6 foot 3 point-center Gary Payton II, who Twitter affectionately calls “the Mitten” (if you know, you know), and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors’ sensational positionless rookie. Gary Payton II has pulled off some insane posters, lobs, and putbacks this season, and he might just have the most bounce off two feet of any player in the NBA. Scottie Barnes, on the other hand, enjoys doing his best Giannis impression on every Toronto fastbreak, and I have to admit, Scottie’s impression is pretty good. I would love to see him compete in Cleveland this February.

3-Point Contest

Ryan

Contestants: Steph Curry, Fred VanVleet, Patty Mills, Desmond Bane, Pat Connaughton, and Cameron Johnson

These are the 6 that I would personally love to see. Steph is undoubtedly the greatest shooter of all time. He broke the career 3-point record earlier this season and has kind of been in a shooting slump ever since. But nobody is more capable of making 12-15 in a row to bring that special buzz to the arena that every sports fan so badly desires. FVV is quietly putting together a fantastic 2021-22 season, including shooting it from deep at about a 40% clip. He’s turning into a star without Kyle Lowry around. Patty Mills is a guy I have always wanted the Timberwolves to sign. I legitimately don’t know that I have ever seen the guy miss a catch-and-shoot corner 3. Desmond Bane has sort of come out of nowhere this season, but man has the kid been good. He’s a huge reason that the Grizzlies are in the position that they are in. Cameron Johnson is the epitome of what it takes to win a title. He’s a fantastic role player who knows exactly what his job on the team is. He doesn’t try to do too much. He simply does his job. And a big part of his job is knocking down jump shots. And he does that better than most, shooting 42.7% from three this season.

And that brings me to my guy, Pat Connaughton. I’m a huge Notre Dame football and basketball fan. Pat Connaughton was one of my favorite Notre Dame basketball players of all time. But he was also a stud pitcher on the baseball team. His sophomore year, he started 10 games and had a 1.71 ERA. His future was in baseball, surely, and he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2014. But he was in love with basketball. He followed his heart and look at him now. He’s an NBA champion making $5.3 million a year, playing a key role on a team looking to repeat. Pat is your ultimate 3 and D guy. At 6’5″, he is capable of guarding 1-3. And he does it at a very high level. He also knocks down threes at a very high level. 40.4% of his three-point attempts find the bottom of the net. He’s my pick to win this 3-Point Contest. That may be just a little bit biased.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Pat Connaughton coming up clutch in game 4 of the NBA Finals last season. A putback followed by a corner 3 to put the Bucks ahead. If the Bucks lose this game, they would’ve been down 3-1 and probably don’t win the title. Pat to the rescue!

Ben

Contestants: Steph Curry, Patty Mills, Desmond Bane, Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portis, and Tyrese Haliburton.

I don’t need to waste your time and tell you why I want Steph Curry, Patty Mills, Desmond Bane, and Pat Connaughton in the 3-Point Contest, because Ryan already did that for me. Our reasoning is practically identical, apart from the Notre Dame part (Go Blue!). I guess great minds think alike. Thanks Ryan!

Where I change things up is with my inclusion of a big man. I firmly believe that the world would be a better place if we saw a big man dominate in the 3-Point Contest. It would make the competition, which gets more stale with every passing year, so much more fun to watch, and it would instantly make way for more big men to compete in the future, leading to both amazing performances and definitely some all-time stinkers too. That’s quality entertainment, people! It also makes sense to have at least one big man in the 3-Point Contest given the trend basketball has been heading since Steph Curry’s revolutionary 2015-16 NBA season. But that’s another blog topic for another day. Whatever the case, I would love to see Bobby Portis, who is shooting 41.4% from behind the arc on 4.5 attempts per game, take on the guards in this year’s 3-Point Contest.

Sacramento Kings standout Tyrese Haliburton gets my last spot. This is not just an inclusion due to his ridiculous marksmanship from downtown this season, but also put his remarkably unorthodox form on display in Cleveland. It’s cool to see a guy who shoots like I did in middle school connect on 43.7% of his threes on nearly 5 attempts per game. I would link a video showing you his form, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise in case he actually does get to compete, which is a real possibility.

Western Conference All-Stars

Ryan

Starters: Steph Curry, Ja Morant, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Karl-Anthony Towns

Bench: Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Rudy Gobert, Brandon Ingram, and Draymond Green

Before I begin with my explanation, let me explain two quick things:

1. Dejounte Murray and Anthony Edwards should make this team over Ingram and Green. But because the NBA incorrectly defines Edwards as a SG, and because of their dumb roster rules, you don’t end up with the 12 best players making it. There are only 4 western conference forwards that deserve to be an All-Star. This conference is very guard heavy. Dejounte Murray should 100% be an All-Star. It’s a travesty that he won’t be because of these dumb rules, especially in a day and age of positionless basketball.
2. I don’t want to hear any of this “Andrew Wiggins deserves to be an All-Star” crap. No, he doesn’t. Has he turned himself into a much better player than when he was in Minnesota? Yes. Do I have a vendetta against him? No. I’m very happy for the guy. But he is the third best player on that team. Draymond is the glue. Draymond makes them go. Green should 100% be an All-Star before Wiggins. Averaging 8/8/8 isn’t sexy by any means, but Green does all the little things for that team.

The first four in the starting lineup are very obvious. Steph, Ja, Jokic, and LeBron are 4 of the top 8 MVP candidates, in my opinion. Steph has not been shooting the ball as well as we are used to, but he’s still been a top-5 player all year long. What LeBron is doing at age 37 has never been seen before. 29/8/6 at that age is unbelievable. He hasn’t really lost a step at all. And without AD, that Lakers team just isn’t good, and he’s managed to keep them afloat. Jokic is the MVP. That man is just ridiculous. His 49/14/10 game the other night was one of the most dominant performances I have ever watched. And this pass that capped it off? It just shouldn’t be legal for a 7-footer to do this.

Like I said earlier, Ja is the most entertaining player in the NBA to watch. He’s a human highlight reel. I don’t want to say he’s the only reason why I purchased NBA League Pass, but he is a huge reason. This block that he had a few weeks ago is one of the most impressive things I have ever seen on a basketball court.

The 5th starter is tough. The first 4 are so deserving. But the problem is that the next 4-5 best players (this year) in the Western Conference are all guards. But the NBA says 3 forwards have to start. It has to be between KAT and Gobert and that point. Personally, I think Gobert is a great defender. I don’t think he is an elite defender. I DEFINITELY don’t think he is the best defender in the NBA. That plus KAT being so much better offensively is why I give the nod to KAT. He’s averaging 24/9/4 while shooting 52/41/81 from the field. The Timberwolves are serious playoff contenders and KAT is the biggest reason why. He plays with too much emotion at times and gets too many offensive fouls, but he is such a joy to watch. Having guys that play too hard and care too much is a good thing, not a bad thing.

The first 5 on the bench are also obvious to me. As much as I wanted to give Murray a spot on this team, I can’t put him above any of those 4 guards. Luka is Luka. He’s a generational talent who got off to a slow start, but the guy has been insane lately. He’s having a poor year for his standards and is still averaging 25/9/9 at age 22. That’s just silly. CP3 and Booker both have to make it. They are the two best players on the best team in basketball. Booker’s shooting and scoring is down a bit this year, but he’s still one of the few guys in the NBA who is a serious threat to drop 50 every time he steps on the court. If DBook gets hot, it’s game over. CP3 is the best pure point guard I have ever had the pleasure of watching live. He currently leads the NBA in assists at age 36. And his mid-range game is so deadly, especially at the end of games. He deserves a ring. The Jazz are having another fantastic year, despite some recent struggles. Will they do anything in the playoffs? No. Not unless they make a splash at the trade deadline. But that is irrelevant. Mitchell and Gobert are both having great years once again. As badly as I want to put Dejounte Murray in over Mitchell, I can’t do it. The Spurs just aren’t good enough.

Ingram and Green will not even be discussed. They only make it because of the dumb 3 forwards on the bench rule. How are these two going to make the All-Star Game over Dejounte Murray? Pathetic.

Ben

Starters: Steph Curry, Ja Morant, LeBron James, Draymond Green, and Nikola Jokic

Bench: Chris Paul, Luka Doncic, Brandon Ingram, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Devin Booker

Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. Despite his significant shooting slump during the past month or so, Steph Curry is an All-Star starter, no questions asked. So is LeBron James. Nikola Jokic is an irreplaceable starter too, and I have little doubt that the MVP Blog will have a piece dedicated to the reigning MVP before the season’s end. Ja Morant’s counting stats are very good, but so are Luka Doncic’s. Their seasons have been more similar than many people will have you believe. However, the difference between their two cases for the other guard spot alongside Steph is that Morant has been the dominant, efficient leader of a winning basketball team all season long, while Luka has looked otherworldly only for the past month or so. Morant’s Grizzlies were the hottest team in the NBA in December, while Luka’s Mavs have been absolutely rolling in January.

My final starting spot goes to Draymond Green. I know, I know, but before you delete your WordPress account and unfollow The MVP Blog on all of your socials, let me make the case for Draymond. There are two main reasons why he’s my last starter. First, Draymond Green is the Warriors’ most valuable player. Yes, I said it. If you’ve been watching the Warriors without him you’d agree. Here are some notable games that the Golden State Warriors have played without Draymond in the last two weeks: An away loss to the Bucks where they trailed by 39 points at halftime, a home loss in overtime to the Pacers (who were missing Sabonis, Brodgon, LeVert, and Turner), and a 105-103 home win against the lowly Rockets. In games where Draymond has been out this season, Steph Curry is averaging just 22/5/7 on 38.8% from the field and 33.7% from three. The Warriors are 6-7 without Draymond this season. If that doesn’t speak to the immense value of Draymond Green and convince you why he is worthy of a starting spot in this year’s All-Star Game, nothing will.

As far as the bench, none of my picks are any different from Ryan’s with the slight change of KAT being on my bench instead of Draymond. My “snub lineup” of sorts is Dejounte Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Paul George, Kristaps Porzingis and Jonas Valanciunas. All 5 of those guys have had incredible seasons, and I would like to say one positive thing about each player which will hopefully soften the blow for them. Dejounte Murray is one of the best young point guards I have ever seen, and with his combination of athleticism and two-way skill, his potential is genuinely limitless. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s quiet rise into stardom is just as remarkable as his versatile offensive skillset, which is always on full display despite his woeful supporting cast. Paul George was cruising for an 8th career All-Star selection before his unfortunate injury, and he has proven his worth to the Clippers in the past year or so. Kristaps Porzingis has been getting it done consistently on both ends whether Luka is in the lineup or not, and he is a big reason why the Mavs have the best defense (yes, really!) in the NBA at the moment. Finally, Jonas Valanciunas’ improvement from beyond the arc in terms of both volume (0.9 attempts per game up to 2.5) and efficiency (37% to 42%) deserves way more recognition.

Eastern Conference All-Stars

Ryan

Starters: Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid

Bench: Zach LaVine, James Harden, Fred VanVleet, Darius Garland, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Jarrett Allen

Once again, the 5 starters seem obvious to me. 4 of the top 8 MVP candidates in DeMar, KD, Giannis, and Joel. DeMar has been rejuvenated since getting out of San Antonio. The mid-range king is back and better than ever. KD is the greatest scorer of all time, and this year has done nothing to make me think otherwise. Giannis is currently the best player in the NBA. When he wants to get to the rim, there is literally nothing that anybody in the NBA can do about it. He’s too big, too long, too quick, and too strong. If he keeps improving his jump shot, he’ll be in the MJ/LeBron category pretty soon. And then there is Joel Embiid. This man is a freak. Not quite a Giannis level freak, but a freak nonetheless. Since the middle of December, he is averaging 34/10/4 on 55/42/83 shooting. And most importantly, he has played in every game. The only thing that can stop this man is his own body.

Trae Young has to be the 5th starter. He’s averaging 28/4/9.5 a night while shooting the ball better than he ever has. 46/37/90 is not too shabby. Trae’s main problem is his abysmal defense. The Hawks rank dead last in defensive efficiency this season. And a big reason why is that Trae couldn’t guard myself or Ben. But this is the All-Star game, nobody plays defense anyways.

Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. These are my two musts. The Cavs have been the surprise of the season, and these two are a huge reason why. The Cavs had 0 expectations coming into the season, and now sit in the 5th seed in the East at 28-19. Garland took a step forward last year in his sophomore season, and now he has taken a giant leap in year 3. Part of this has to be because Sexton is out and Garland is the guy, but still impressive to see the giant leap. He’s averaging 20/8 and shooting the ball efficiently. Allen has also taken a step forward this season, averaging career highs in both points and rebounds. We always heard about how good he could be during his time in Brooklyn, and Allen is showing all of that potential in Cleveland.

Tatum, Butler, and Harden are the usual suspects. Tatum is fine. I think he’s a star. I don’t think he’s a superstar. He is averaging 25 points per game, but he has been terribly inefficient. He takes 21 shots a game and only scores 25… He is shooting 41% from the field. Honestly, Brown is more deserving to be an All-Star this season, but the guard/forward rules don’t allow that to happen. Harden got off to a slow start but has looked like his old self lately. He’s not fun to watch, but he produces. Jimmy Butler has missed a bunch of time, but when he plays, he has been great. Miami is currently the top seed in the East. They have to have an All-Star. So, Jimmy Butler it is.

It became clear early on that LaVine, KAT, and Wiggins weren’t gelling. LaVine or KAT had to go. I was begging for the Wolves to trade Wiggins. We traded LaVine. In Chicago, he has blossomed into what I always saw in him. An uber athletic kid who can shoot the lights out and get to the hoop at will. The thing about LaVine is that he still has room to get better. He is so freaking good offensively. Defensively is a different story. Like I stated earlier, FVV has been fantastic without Kyle Lowry. He leads the league in minutes per games and he is averaging career highs in points, assists, and rebounds, all while shooting 40% from three. He deserves to be an All-Star.

Ben

Starters: Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid

Bench: Trae Young, Darius Garland, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Jarrett Allen, James Harden, and Fred VanVleet

Again, let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. DeMar, KD, Giannis, and Embiid will be starters in Cleveland. DeMar has been the number one option all season for this fantastic Bulls squad, and his exceptional play, especially in the clutch, has thankfully not gone unnoticed. Kevin Durant was the best basketball player in the world before his injury, and the effortlessness of his dominance is making people wonder if he is legitimately the greatest pure scorer in NBA history. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a human wrecking ball all season, and since his statement performance against the Celtics on Christmas Day, he has been averaging 32/11/7, including 77% from the line. Embiid has had more points than minutes in his last 4 games, including 50 points in 27 minutes against the Magic, and his outrageous form during the last month or so has catapulted Embiid into the MVP conversation.

Now to address my shock inclusion, Zach LaVine over Trae Young. Any complaints can either be sent to our email (themvpblog1@gmail.com), or alternatively, you can cry about it. My case for Zach LaVine over Trae Young is simple; Zach LaVine’s team is really good, and Trae Young’s team is really bad. It’s worth diving into both how absurdly good the Chicago Bulls have been this season, as well as the surprising struggles of the Atlanta Hawks this season.

First, let’s look at the Bulls. At the time of writing, the Chicago Bulls are 28-17, meaning they’re sitting pretty at 3rd place in the East. LaVine is averaging nearly 25 points per game on nearly 50/40/90 splits (he’s at 49/41/87 to be exact). He’s averaging just 2.8 turnovers per game, down from 3.5 last season, which is no doubt a result of his fantastic partnership with DeMar DeRozan. While many talking heads looked at the Bulls roster and immediately concluded they would be nothing more than a failed science experiment, those familiar with DeRozan and LaVine understood that their ball-dominant styles would mesh perfectly together. This is because while they duo dominate the ball individually, they are both adept playmakers and shot creators. While DeRozan has perfected the art of the mid-range, LaVine has perfected the stepback three and the fastbreak finish, and they’re perfectly willing to give the ball up to the other to get the best shot possible.

Now let’s talk about the Hawks. Despite making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the Hawks are 21-25, 12th in the East. At this rate, they’d be lucky to make the play-in tournament. If they want to return to the playoffs and make more noise, they’ll have to improve their defense. The Hawks have the second worst defensive rating in the NBA, only because their horrendous mark of 114.7 is just slightly better than the Houston Rockets’ abysmal defensive rating of 115. When you watch the Hawks, it is glaringly obvious that Trae Young is the main culprit for this statistic. He has to be hidden from the ballhandler on every defensive possession, because when he isn’t, it’s basically a guaranteed basket. What’s really annoying, especially from the eye test, is that it doesn’t seem like Trae is even trying on defense anymore, like he understands that he’s undersized and is also the Hawks’ best offensive player so he’s perfectly fine with the Hawks playing 4 on 5 defense every time the opponent has the ball.

My bench is the same as Ryan’s when you account for LaVine in my starting lineup instead of Trae.

Now onto my “snub lineup”. LaMelo Ball, Jaylen Brown, Miles Bridges, Pascal Siakam, and Domantas Sabonis. LaMelo is part of my holy trinity of fun NBA players, alongside his bouncy brethren Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards, and watching him grow into the leader of this young, hungry Hornets squad is awesome. Jaylen Brown may look like a square peg in a round hole on an unbalanced, struggling Celtics team, but that’s not due to any fault of his own, averaging 24 PPG on 36% from three. Fan favorite Miles Bridges is making his case for MIP, but LaMelo’s favorite lob target just misses out on an All-Star nod despite putting up 20 and 7 a night. Pascal Siakam has fully bounced back from a disappointing season in 2020/21, and he’s averaging 21/8/5 with a career high mark of 1.2 steals per night. Last but not least, Domantas Sabonis may want to be traded from his floundering Indiana Pacers team, but he certainly isn’t playing like it, with per game averages of 19/12/5 on 65% true shooting.

The All-Star Draft

We at The MVP Blog have had a stellar first half of the season. In fact, Ben and Ryan have been selected as All-Star Captains. We will now draft our 12-man teams to have the two All-Star rosters. For the sake of this draft, we will have KAT and LaVine as starters.

And now into the draft. We will be doing this just like the normal All-Star draft. All 10 starters must be taken before a bench player is taken. Serpentine style, meaning whoever picks second will also pick third.

Starters Round

Ben – R1 P1: LeBron James (LAL)

Ryan – R1 P2: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL)

Ryan – R2 P1: Ja Morant (MEM)

Ben – R2 P2: Steph Curry (GSW)

Ben – R3 P1: Joel Embiid (PHI)

Ryan – R3 P2: Kevin Durant (BKN)

Ryan – R4 P1: Nikola Jokic (DEN)

Ben – R4 P2: Zach LaVine (CHI)

Ben – R5 P1: Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)

Ryan – R5 P2: DeMar DeRozan (CHI)

Bench Round:

Ryan – R6 P1: Devin Booker (PHX)

Ben – R6 P2: Donovan Mitchell (UTA)

Ben – R7 P1: Jarrett Allen (CLE)

Ryan – R7 P2: Luka Doncic (DAL)

Ryan – R8 P1: Jimmy Butler (MIA)

Ben – R8 P2: Jayson Tatum (BOS)

Ben – R9 P1: Brandon Ingram (NOP)

Ryan – R9 P2: Darius Garland (CLE)

Ryan – R10 P1: Fred VanVleet (TOR)

Ben – R10 P2: Chris Paul (PHX)

Ben – R11 P1: Trae Young (ATL)

Ryan – R11 P2: Draymond Green (GSW)

Ryan – R12 P1: Rudy Gobert (UTA)

Ben – R12 P2: James Harden (BKN)

Ryan’s team:

Starters: Morant, DeRozan, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Jokic

Bench: Booker, Doncic, Butler, Green, Gobert, Garland, VanVleet

Ben’s team:

Starters: Curry, LaVine, James, Towns, Embiid

Bench: Paul, Mitchell, Ingram, Tatum, Allen, Young, Harden

Comment down below which team you think would win!

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Authors: Ben Pawlak and Ryan Macdonald

Published: 1/24/22 at 6pm EST

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Sources/Works Cited:

“2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest – Aaron Gordon vs Zach LaVine HD Full.” YouTube, Money SEO, 14 Feb. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZFQPupSEnk. Accessed 24 Jan. 2022.

“Aaron Gordon CASHES Clutch Game-Winner vs. Clippers.” YouTube, Bleacher Report, 20 Jan. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnjzzbK7T_k. Accessed 23 Jan. 2022.

“Anthony Edwards DUNKS ALL OVER Gabe Vincent.” YouTube, Bleacher Report, 24 Nov. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzBaYgDLPI&t=21s. Accessed 23 Jan. 2022.

Google Images, Google, https://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en.

“Ja Morant’s 21 BEST Dunks | Career Highlights.” YouTube, NBA, 10 Aug. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJx80hlXZUo. Accessed 23 Jan. 2022.

“Ja Morant Nearly Jumps Over Kevin Love in Near Poster Dunk.” YouTube, Bleacher Report, 20 Dec. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJvHeuCLJAs. Accessed 24 Jan. 2022.

“Ja Morant with INSANE TWO HANDED BLOCK 🤯.” YouTube, House of Highlights, 9 Jan. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CctfxNooZk. Accessed 23 Jan. 2022.

“Pat Connaughton Saves Bucks with CLUTCH 4th Quarter Shots in the NBA Finals.” YouTube, NBA Highlights 8K, 15 July 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moRMJmKTgAI. Accessed 23 Jan. 2022.

Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com – Basketball Statistics and History. https://www.basketball-reference.com/. 24 January 2022.

StatMuse, https://www.statmuse.com/.