The 71st NBA All-Star Weekend 2022 took place in Cleveland, Ohio and celebrated the league’s landmark 75th Anniversary Season, capping off with the annual All-Star Game on Sunday night which saw Team LeBron defeat Team Durant 163-160.
Steph Curry was named All-Star Game MVP for the first time in his illustrious career after producing the greatest long-distance shooting performance in All-Star Game history. Curry made 16 3-pointers and scored 50 points and was presented with the newly redesigned MVP trophy that in 2020 was renamed in honour of Kobe Bryant, who won a record-tying four of them.
Cleveland last hosted NBA All-Star in 1997, when the NBA commemorated its 50th anniversary. The All-Star Game’s return to Cleveland was particularly poignant for All-Star captain, LeBron James who is the Cavaliers franchise’s greatest player, having led them to their only NBA championship in 2016, and Steph Curry who, like his All-Star captain, was born in the same hospital in Akron.
Stars from the world of music and entertainment sat courtside at a packed-out Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to watch the All-Star action unfold on Sunday evening. Images of the celebrities in attendance included:
- Adele
- Mary J Blidge
- Megan Fox
- Machine Gun Kelly
- Jennifer Hudson
- Bill Murray
- Lil Wayne
- Ranveer Singh
- Usher
- Spike Lee
- DJ Khaled
On Friday. the 2022 Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game saw Peloton workout influencer Alex Toussaint named MVP after scoring 18 points and leading Team Walton to a convincing 65-51 victory over Team ‘Nique. Other celebrities to take part in the All-Star Celebrity Game included; Machine Gun Kelly (singer), Quavo (rapper), Ranveer Singh (actor), and Gianmarco Tamberi (Olympic high jump champion).
On Saturday, the NBA All-Star Skills Competition crowned the following winners:
- The New York Knicks’ Obi Toppin won the dunk contest after finishing second last season
- Minnesota Timberwolves star, Karl-Anthony Towns became the first big man to win the 3-Point Contest since 2012
