2026 NBA Season

[Japinat]

Tomorrow is much more exciting, 3 point and then the slam dunk. Hopefully it will be a great and exciting day again. Rookie Kon Knueppel is the favorite followed by Dame in the 3 point shooting contest.

Damn, experience really won this one. Even though Knueppel made it past the first round, in the end, the most experienced guy still took the trophy, which is Damian Lillard.

I honestly thought Devin Booker would win the contest. But sadly, on the last rack, which was the money rack, he only made like 2 out of 5 if I remember right. Because of that, he couldn’t beat Lillard’s score. Still, it was fun to watch. Knueppel should come back next All-Star. Now he already has the experience, next time there will be less pressure on him.

[Stavri]

If the dunk contest wasn't dead before, not it sure is! What a terrible excuse for the once beloved event. I mean how weak was that please? That first dunk from Hayes, just a regular dunk. No imagination, no athleticism, no excitement, no nothing. That really must have been the worst contest I have ever seen, and I have seen many bad ones.

True... seeing these judges give 47 points to dunks that even the most talentless player could pull off... it’s a miracle the NBA all star weekend even exists anymore. i didn't even watch it live but I still have this bad aftertaste in my mouth like drinking a flat month old soda that’s been sitting in the fridge.

[tech30338]

If the dunk contest wasn't dead before, not it sure is! What a terrible excuse for the once beloved event. I mean how weak was that please? That first dunk from Hayes, just a regular dunk. No imagination, no athleticism, no excitement, no nothing. That really must have been the worst contest I have ever seen, and I have seen many bad ones.

True... seeing these judges give 47 points to dunks that even the most talentless player could pull off... it’s a miracle the NBA all star weekend even exists anymore. i didn't even watch it live but I still have this bad aftertaste in my mouth like drinking a flat month old soda that’s been sitting in the fridge.

Clearly the dunk contest is dead, they should make a rule that the best dunker should participate in the dunk contest, it should be mandatory so that the audience could watch the best dunker in the league, or for the players to step up, they should make a big prize, clearly this is what the fans are looking for the dunk contest because its where players showcase their skills on how to make jaw dropping dunks, and make the crowd roar , should the NBA and the teams make it happen?

[Stavri]

If the dunk contest wasn't dead before, not it sure is! What a terrible excuse for the once beloved event. I mean how weak was that please? That first dunk from Hayes, just a regular dunk. No imagination, no athleticism, no excitement, no nothing. That really must have been the worst contest I have ever seen, and I have seen many bad ones.

True... seeing these judges give 47 points to dunks that even the most talentless player could pull off... it’s a miracle the NBA all star weekend even exists anymore. i didn't even watch it live but I still have this bad aftertaste in my mouth like drinking a flat month old soda that’s been sitting in the fridge.

Clearly the dunk contest is dead, they should make a rule that the best dunker should participate in the dunk contest, it should be mandatory so that the audience could watch the best dunker in the league, or for the players to step up, they should make a big prize, clearly this is what the fans are looking for the dunk contest because its where players showcase their skills on how to make jaw dropping dunks, and make the crowd roar , should the NBA and the teams make it happen?

American showmanship just doesn't cut it anymore. just like the Oscars have flopped for the past five years especially after that Anora disaster last year. All Star games also crashed and burned. ten years ago i used to set an alarm for 4 AM just to watch the dunk contest. now i don't even bother with the highlights i just check the stats.

[Beparanf]

If the dunk contest wasn't dead before, not it sure is! What a terrible excuse for the once beloved event. I mean how weak was that please? That first dunk from Hayes, just a regular dunk. No imagination, no athleticism, no excitement, no nothing. That really must have been the worst contest I have ever seen, and I have seen many bad ones.

True... seeing these judges give 47 points to dunks that even the most talentless player could pull off... it’s a miracle the NBA all star weekend even exists anymore. i didn't even watch it live but I still have this bad aftertaste in my mouth like drinking a flat month old soda that’s been sitting in the fridge.

Clearly the dunk contest is dead, they should make a rule that the best dunker should participate in the dunk contest, it should be mandatory so that the audience could watch the best dunker in the league, or for the players to step up, they should make a big prize, clearly this is what the fans are looking for the dunk contest because its where players showcase their skills on how to make jaw dropping dunks, and make the crowd roar , should the NBA and the teams make it happen?

This is expected since the bar set by previous dunk contest was already high while NBA today prioritized more on shooting long range shots rather than dunk exhibitions.

Most of the top notch nba star player are shooters either mid range or 3pts shot while only few drive and dunk like Lebron on his prime doing lots of exhibitions.

Maybe inviting all the previous dunk contest winner will ignite again interest on this event.

[Jinetics1111]

Dame and Booker was something to watch last night these guys made that look so easy when really and truly that's hard as hell to do. Dame's ball at times wasn't even touching anything the guy is just silky smooth with that shot but we were really missing Steph out there for that event though.

[LogitechMouse]

Chris Paul announces NBA retirement after 21 seasons. It was an amazing career, he'll be in HoF for sure. Another player from our generation has retired.

The decision was right I guess. It’s just sad that he never won a championship. His best chance was with the Phoenix Suns when they reached the Finals and were even ahead, but the Milwaukee Bucks came back and won four straight to beat them.

Still, he was always entertaining to watch, especially during his time with the LA Clippers and the Hornets. The CP3 and Blake Griffin tandem was crazy, and even before that, his run with Tyson Chandler was fun to watch too.

No ring, but still a great career overall. 

Speaking of LA Clippers, I really love the nickname "Lob City" back then because of the trio of DeAndre Jordan, Griffin, and CP3, and also add Redick into the mix as well. TBH, that roster of them for me was the best that the Clippers had, and at one point, I really expected that they'll be a title contending team because of how they're playing at that time. It's just that during that time, that's when the Warriors are dominating the league.

Anyway, CP3 will be added alongside Barkley, Malone, Iverson and others as all-star players that didn't won a ring in their whole NBA career. Will he be a HoF? I do hope that he will be but nevertheless, what a great career coming from him. It didn't end the way many are expecting, but it is what it is. His performance dropped significantly since he returned to the Clippers and that's enough for them to waive him alongside the fact that there's already a problem on the locker room when he's there.

No ring, but he will be known as one of the greatest passers of all time.

[Fredomago]

Dame and Booker was something to watch last night these guys made that look so easy when really and truly that's hard as hell to do. Dame's ball at times wasn't even touching anything the guy is just silky smooth with that shot but we were really missing Steph out there for that event though.

They both shows up ready though only one will win and Dame got the award, I like both swings the ball, shooters that ready to take the shot in every sides of the court, what more if Steph was present then also shows his strokes, though we've missed that chance but there's still another all-star that we might see them competiting from one another.

[Jinetics1111]

Dame and Booker was something to watch last night these guys made that look so easy when really and truly that's hard as hell to do. Dame's ball at times wasn't even touching anything the guy is just silky smooth with that shot but we were really missing Steph out there for that event though.

They both shows up ready though only one will win and Dame got the award, I like both swings the ball, shooters that ready to take the shot in every sides of the court, what more if Steph was present then also shows his strokes, though we've missed that chance but there's still another all-star that we might see them competiting from one another.

There are some guys in that 3 point contest that really didn't belong there for sure though judging by their performances, but yeah if Steph was there would've been a good final between Booker, Steph, and Dame as far as the game tonight I probably won't be watching it.

[SquallLeonhart]

Dunk contest now lost its usual thrill, if we compare it on what we usually for past events before. That effortless dunk made by Hayes looks like he's still doing warm ups, he face heavy criticism for lacking of creativity which people looking up into this kind of contest.

Fans looking to see some highlight or great dunks from the participants, but it seems they didn't see that  this year. Crazy that NBA didn't look for quality dunkers to make this event became more entertaining. People watching that event got disappointed since it seems like they are just watching regular games on NBA.

Adam Silver now has a monumental task at his hands, and I do not think that he will be the one to fix it and there is a possibility that this dunk contest could be the first domino that gets him fired eventually. Not right away because of this all-star break, but this will be the first domino to start it all.

If NBA is getting tanking issues, all-star weekend issues, viewership drops, even on playoffs, then there is something wrong and they are not finding what to do. Adam Silver needs to be fired, so some new person could make it so that we can see them actually do something. I get that it's not easy to get more viewers, but entertainment part needs to increase a lot more. Hell do a break entertainment like how super bowl gets singers at the half time show.

[Velvet78]

That slam dunk contest was boring as hell... When I saw the contestants all the excitement was just gone for me. Did they specially pick the players who aren't given much time to play?

Jaxson Hayes and Jase Richardson were both horrible! Just why would you convince Shaedon Sharpe to be a part of this contest for example?

Dame and Booker was something to watch last night these guys made that look so easy when really and truly that's hard as hell to do. Dame's ball at times wasn't even touching anything the guy is just silky smooth with that shot but we were really missing Steph out there for that event though.

This is just the 3rd time Lillard is winning the three-point contest in All-Star in the last 4 years! Even while he is injured he is able to cook here at least. I wished to see Curry also in this contest. It would have been more delightful to watch.

[danherbias07]

Here's a good read for the Point God.
Chris Paul retires without a ring -- but his career proves he was one of NBA's greatest winners
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/chris-paul-retire-ring-career-nbas-greatest-winners/

He did it as well as almost anyone who's ever played the game. He's called the "Point God" for a reason, after all. But as we covered up top, there's a lot of randomness inherent in clutch performance, and winning championships means winning in the clutch. Paul did as much as humanly possible to put himself in a situation to do that, but even he couldn't control everything. He wound up being among the unluckier players in recent NBA memory. Play his career 100 times and he's a champion in 90 of them. Tweak even a single factor -- injuries, shooting variance, team circumstance -- and he hoists a trophy at some point.

He did great in his career. That's what I can say.
It was magnified more when he joined the super weak OKC Thunder. He showed that his being there would give the team a great change, and it did. Back in Houston, he also did great paired with another guard, James Harden.
Then, in Phoenix with Booker, he also made a big change in how the team plays. Oh, and of course, he was paired well with Ayton. He made Ayton become a powerful center by feeding him lobs, which he did a lot of times back when he was a Clipper.
He may not have a championship ring, but the talent he showed is truly amazing. Records will tell.

[xzone]

No ring, but still a great career overall. 

Allen Iverson was one of the best guards I've ever watched, but he never won a championship. Chris Paul was also a guard at that level. Just as good as Magic, Nash and Kidd who won championships, AI and CP3 were just as good. It was an amazing career.

I completely agree, winning a ring isn't that important in my opinion. If the team you're playing for isn't the best team, there's not much you can do. Even the best basketball player in the world can't single-handedly win a championship for a team. They can win games, get them to the playoff finals, but winning a championship is incredibly difficult. That's why superstar basketball players who don't have rings aren't that different or worse players in my eyes.


Last night's slam dunk contest was terrible. It might be the worst slam dunk contest I've ever seen. The NBA is terribly run; is there really no one in the whole league who can dunk? They're not creative, they're not aesthetically pleasing; we can see much better dunks in a normal game

[EFS]

Keshad Johnson's first dunk over E-40 was pretty good. The between the legs dunk was also fine. Although it wasn't anything new in terms of creativity, but it was successful in terms of difficulty and aesthetics. In the final round, Carter Bryant basically gave away a trophy he was going to win with his own hands.

Luda's stage performance was nice. I wasn't expecting to see him in LA. I thought someone from West Coast would show up. I checked who was performing today, but unfortunately there were names I didn't recognize.

[ultrloa]

Dame and Booker was something to watch last night these guys made that look so easy when really and truly that's hard as hell to do. Dame's ball at times wasn't even touching anything the guy is just silky smooth with that shot but we were really missing Steph out there for that event though.

They both shows up ready though only one will win and Dame got the award, I like both swings the ball, shooters that ready to take the shot in every sides of the court, what more if Steph was present then also shows his strokes, though we've missed that chance but there's still another all-star that we might see them competiting from one another.

There are some guys in that 3 point contest that really didn't belong there for sure though judging by their performances, but yeah if Steph was there would've been a good final between Booker, Steph, and Dame as far as the game tonight I probably won't be watching it.

Can't expect all of them will perform well, but still its good to see on how 3 pt shooting end up, because this is really a great duel between Dame and Booker.

Knueppel show promising stroke on first round and had a great chance to win, but Dame and Booker shows their shooting accuracy and dominated that event. Dame light up the mode of everyone and shoot so well on that time and manage to take home the trophy. If Steph is there maybe we can see more entertaining duel between best shooters in NBA on that contest.

[Oasisman]

Keshad Johnson's first dunk over E-40 was pretty good. The between the legs dunk was also fine. Although it wasn't anything new in terms of creativity, but it was successful in terms of difficulty and aesthetics. In the final round, Carter Bryant basically gave away a trophy he was going to win with his own hands.

Well, that's a good one, just another normal slamdunk contest, no elements of surprise there, especially that Jax Hayse decided to throw a generic NBA2k dunk package in the 1st round lol.
It's been 10 years since we have not seen a worthy to watch slamdunk contest. Some people suggests to bring LaVine, Gordon, and McLung on the next contest. However, I don't think Gordon have the same vertical 10 years ago.
I'm still hoping we'll have a good one in 2027, way better than what we have seen in the last 9 years.

Anyone betting on allstar game? Team World are too tall. Currently watching now with the game tied at the end of 1st game between World vs USA Stars. I thought team World had this one with huge margin.

Edit : team World lost, and Wemby got frustrated, lol.

[Dave1]

Dame and Booker was something to watch last night these guys made that look so easy when really and truly that's hard as hell to do. Dame's ball at times wasn't even touching anything the guy is just silky smooth with that shot but we were really missing Steph out there for that event though.

Bring Steph vs Dame next season in the 3 point content, that will be huge for the fans.

As for the 3 point content, it's dead already, even if they have the legends in Dr. J as the judge, pretty sure he has seen those kind of dunks before in this career with so much power and grace. And it's regular now, nothing to push the fans to their edge of their seat like what Gordon and Lavine did years ago. Or even Mclung, they will have to get new set of dunkers for next season.

[EFS]

This format is more competitive but all players don't get much time. Alpi only played 3 minutes. Some players didn't even take a shot. Wemby did everything he could but it wasn't enough. Before, there was almost no defense and tons of dunks, now it's the complete opposite.

This format isn't bad but I'd still prefer 48 minutes of East vs. West. Cade and Jalen were good, they represented the Pistons well. Let's see how the final game turns out.

[Jinetics1111]

Can't expect all of them will perform well, but still its good to see on how 3 pt shooting end up, because this is really a great duel between Dame and Booker.

Knueppel show promising stroke on first round and had a great chance to win, but Dame and Booker shows their shooting accuracy and dominated that event. Dame light up the mode of everyone and shoot so well on that time and manage to take home the trophy. If Steph is there maybe we can see more entertaining duel between best shooters in NBA on that contest.

Yeah you may have a point but it's called ALL-STAR weekend for a reason, you wanna see the best of the best this used to be a weekend most NBA fans looked forward to but not so much it's more along the lines of having it on as background sounds now. It's crazy when the 3pt contest is the only thing to look forward to now since the bigger names can't/won't dunk anymore I guess as far as the Saturday goes.

[xzone]

What is Kawhi Leonard doing? An incredible performance, the best performance among the best players in the world!

I didn't like the new format very much; it's not as enjoyable as the ones in the 2000s. But at least it's much better than the format of recent years; we were watching unexciting games. Now, at least there's competition and defense.
We didn't see the beautiful dunks and entertaining scenes we're used to seeing in the All-Star game; I would have liked to see more of those. Now we're watching the game like a playoff final; everyone is taking their job very seriously