Top NBA talent competing in New York

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On Valentine’s Day weekend, New York City is going to be occupied by the best basketball players on Earth. With nine major competitions, including the Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Contest and, of course, the All-Star Game, many eyes will stay glued to Madison Square Garden, where all of All-Star Weekend will be taking place.

Despite several outstanding events, one of the biggest is slated to be the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest. With arguably one of the finest lineups in history, it is going to be good.

Several record-setters are leading the pack, such as the Atlanta Hawks’ Kyle Korver, who holds the best single-season three-point percentage, and Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who has put up a record of 43.4% over his first six seasons.

Curry’s teammate Klay Thompson has the record for the most three-pointers made through a player’s first four seasons. Other competitors have their achievements too; J.J. Redick of the Los Angeles Clippers ranks 20th all-time among players with the highest percentage after attempting 1,900 or more shots; Marco Bellinelli won last year’s Three-Point Contest; James Harden, Wes Matthews, and Kyrie Irving will be among those competing as well.

According to Jack Winter of DimeMag.com, “As is, though, does this Three-Point Shootout merit consideration as the best ever? Certainly. The combined star power, current marksmanship and collective relevance of Curry, Thompson, Korver, Matthews and Redick is unprecedented over recent seasons. Whether or not this event tops each one ever put on is more difficult to decide.”

This year’s group is tied for third all time in shooting percentage and may be considered the best since 1988.

Another major event is the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a forward from the Milwaukee Bucks, Zack LaVine, a guard from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Victor Oladipo, a guard for the Orlando Magic, and Mason Plumlee, a center/forward for the Brooklyn Nets, are this year’s contestants. All are young; none have played two full years. But they have a resume to fit this competition. They each can be identified by some of their emphatic dunks and will be good contestants this year. The only doubt is whether these young players can live up to last year’s contest, which featured stars like John Wall and Paul George.

For the Western Conference, they will be led by Curry, his teammate Thompson, and Harden in the backcourt and, due to the injuries of New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis and Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, Damien Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks will be their replacements. Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies will start at center.

The Eastern Conference will be led by John Wall of the Washington Wizards and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors in the backcourt, with Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks up front.

 

The benches for both sides also feature major star power. The West has LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers, DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Chris Paul of the Clippers.

For the East, they have Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The competition will be fierce and high scoring, with matchups in the middle of the Gasol brothers and the two arguably best point guards in the league in Curry and Wall. Both teams have tough inner defenses, so many points will be scored outside the paint, where the West has the advantage, because both of the representatives from the Warriors, Curry and Thompson, are notorious at the three-point line. But no matter the score, the game is going to be a great way to end the All-Star weekend.