2022 NBA All-Star Weekend Exit Survey

All-Star Weekend in Cleveland ultimately may be remembered for the events around the main events. In between a reshuffled Rising Stars Challenge, a lackluster dunk contest, and Sunday’s big game, we got a tour-de-force of pointed comments from LeBron James, a major injury to the best player on the NBA’s best team, and a Michael Jordan sighting. Our staff looks back at all the big moments, before looking ahead to the second half of the 2021-22 season.

1. The All-Star Game was ___________.

Dan Devine: Fine. Steph hit a bajillion 3s; Ja, LaMelo, and Dejounte Murray did some cool shit; the crowd at the arena popped when the hometown guys did stuff; and nobody got hurt. I don’t know how much more I’d be willing to ask for.

Matt Dollinger: A weekend saver. A 50-bomb by Steph Curry and a game-winner from LeBron are almost enough for me to forget that the final round of the Skills Challenge was just a bunch of guys shooting half-court shots.

Rob Mahoney: Exactly what it should be: A showcase for the league; a highlight reel in the making; a roving spotlight for the game’s biggest stars; a celebration of where the sport has been and where it’s going; and a competitive game with a satisfying conclusion.

J. Kyle Mann: Pretty fun. My interest level in this game has plummeted over the years, but we got fresh faces announcing their fearless presence and we got legends showing they still had it.

Logan Murdock: Iconic. A competitive game with all the game’s biggest stars past and present watching. Oh yeah, then the face of the league drains the game-winning bucket near his hometown. This game is in the top five all-time. Easy.

Seerat Sohi: Sloppy. I’d like my glorified lob-throwing contests to feature more accurately placed passes in the future.

Justin Verrier: Entertaining at the end. The unnecessarily complicated Elam formula once again made for a compelling fourth quarter. Until then, the highlights came primarily from the many sideswipes on the Inside the NBA broadcast.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

2. What was the best 75th Anniversary team–related moment?

Murdock: Michael Jordan and LeBron James embracing, if only because we haven’t seen that much during James’s career. We’ve been so caught up in how James’s legacy compares to Jordan’s that we forget how much respect they have for one another.

Mann:

I got a big laugh out of Larry Bird joyfully waving and pretending to look up at the crowd like he was Afterlife Chubbs from Happy Gilmore. Worst moment was the realization that we weren’t going to get an updated version of the hideous leather jackets for each player that we saw at the 50th anniversary. I’d be pissed if I made this team.

Dollinger: Reggie Miller just laughing when the telecast showed John Stockton.

Devine: I think it’s the degree to which today’s superstars—these $200 million men, the captains of industry and titans of the sport—seemed to feel legitimate awe and wonder at sharing the stage with their…