Best of the Spurs Week: All-Star edition

So, what did everyone think of All-Star weekend? Saturday was a bit of a snoozefest but Sunday’s game more than made up for it. If you had told me that five years ago, I would’ve called you crazy!

There was definitely way too many things that happened to include it all in one post, so here are some of the hightlights (and lowlights!) from the 2022 All-Star weekend.

Best warning of what was to come

That dunk contest was... something else. And not in a good way.

Seriously, can we put a limit on the number of attempts that dunkers can have? I know they already have one in place but it’s way too loose. Yes, Jalen Green had some great what-if dunks, but there’s not point in watching it over and over again when A) we already know what he’s trying to do, and B) we also know that he’s unlikely to be successful.

I mean, just put poor Shaq and Kareem out of their misery!

Best “I’ve had enough of this crap” moment

Most accurate reaction

Best dunk

Second best shooting display

Calling KAT the greatest big man shooter ever isn’t doing him justice.

He’s one of the greatest shooters of the current three-point obsessed generation, big man or not.

For his career, KAT has shot a ridiculous 39.6% from deep, and that includes his first two years in the league when he converted on 34.1% and 36.7%, respectively.

The former first overall pick is one of the best offensive players in modern history and I’d argue he’s the best pure offensive centre of this generation outside of Jokic. Consider this: KAT has a career true shooting percentage of 62.2%, which is about 5-6% better than the league average over that span.

The man is literally a walking 25 / 10 and is finally getting his due. You love to see it.

Best feel-good story

Best artwork

Proudest moment

Most emotional moment

Best Dejounte play

Best showing of respect

And speaking of Steph...

Best shooting display

Folks, that man right there is the great offensive player ever.

Is that a hot take? I’m not sure, but it really shouldn’t be.

Sure, there might be some recency bias at play here, but no one in history has, or ever will have the same impact on a team’s offense as Steph does. He might not have the same gaudy box scores that MJ, Wilt, or even Harden have put up, but traditional stats can’t really accurately reflect his true impact.

The amount of attention he gets from opposing defenses is akin to gravitational pull of a supermassive black hole, as he creates wide-open shots and layups for his teammates without touching the ball once. One day, we’ll hopefully be able create an accurate stat that captures Steph’s true impact and we’ll all look back on it like how we view Wilt’s 50-point season. Except, of course, Steph will prove to be a true outlier unlike Wilt, whose unbreakable records were really a product of the absurd amount of possessions that was played back then.

That’s not an indictment against Wilt, who’s an all-time great, but more of a commentary on the era he played in. Anyway, that’s a topic for another day, but if you’ve got a half hour to spare, please consider watching this video on Steph’s impact.

Best ending

LeBron hitting the game-winner at the end of an All-Star game in Cleveland. The basketball gods truly are something else.

Best awkward / funny moment

Can someone explain to me what the heck was going on with the All-time 75 players who couldn’t make it to the event in person? Were they kidnapped, locked in a white cell, and forced to watch fans acknowledge them on TV while awkwardly waving to... what, exactly?

Seriously, half of them weren’t even looking at the camera! I know they were acknowledging the fans, but who were they looking at when they were waving?

Yes, these are the types of questions that keep me up at night.

Best “Iceman” moment

Most legendary moment

Holy crap, this was like a meeting between mythical creatures! Undoubtedly the two greatest players of all-time showing respect to each other; you definitely don’t see that everyday.

Speaking of which, MJ definitely seemed to show lots of love to other players last weekend, which was a bit of a surprise to me given his nature. Magic certainly didn’t get the memo, though...

Best of MJ challenging... MJ?

Now THIS is who MJ really is. I’m talking about Jordan of course, which is confusing since Magic’s initials are also MJ...

By the way, is there a more iconic initial than MJ? Just having Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson alone is insane; maybe I should change my initials to MJ too.

Getting back on topic, it’s scary how serious Jordan actually was at the end of the clip. The man was NOT playing around, and even though he showed lots of love to players, I’ve got no doubt he wishes nothing more than to find the Lazarus Pit and get back on court to whoop everyone’s you-know-what.

Best fake quote that might actually have been said

Most sus moment

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This week, make sure to check out Jesus’ article on Vassell! Jesus is a perfect fit at Pounding the Rock, just like how Vassell is a perfect fit in the Spurs’ starting lineup.

Alright, I’ll spare you from my bad jokes now. Next week, we’ll get into some actual news that is relevant to this season as we’re really heading into the stretch run now.

As always, stay safe and thanks for reading!