The recent reboot of the Space Jam movie helped introduce millions of children across the world to the sport of professional basketball and the leading names of the NBA. Combining Looney Tunes with ball did the same job for the previous generation, creating a love affair with Michael Jordan and other huge names of the sport. Now it’s the turn of modern-day great LeBron James and Bugs Bunny to fly the flag and promote the NBA.
New fans got a chance to see the National Basketball Association’s best players in action recently thanks to the NBA All-Star game. That celebration of basketball was played out in front of a huge audience with the thousands at courtside enhanced by the millions watching on television and through live streaming apps on their smartphones across the world. From the United States to the United Kingdom, Canada to France and Australia to New Zealand, NBA fans were treated to a show, something far more spectacular than you’ll find in Space Jam or any other sports movie.
Many followers who enjoy making predictions and betting on NBA attempted to solve the puzzle. They aimed to pick the winning team, the game’s most valuable player, the total points and how many three-pointers would find the net during play. The pressure was on the top stars of the sport to deliver an exciting match and they lived up to expectations, putting on a show that won’t be forgotten in a rush.
NBA gets a clean bill of health
The match served as a reminder that the NBA is one of the best-loved sports organisations in the world and that sport in the United States is back at full health following the punishing effects of the pandemic. It was on the leading names and the most famous players to help sell basketball to a global audience an in the All-Star match it’s fair to say they couldn’t have done too much more. It was another resounding success with the likes of James and Steph Curry putting on a show as Team James edged out Team Durant in a thriller.
All-Star matches are often remarkably close as two talented teams battle for supremacy and this year’s renewal was no different. The final score read 163-160 and in true Hollywood fashion, it was LeBron who was responsible for netting the winner on his return to Cleveland. It’s often said that life is stranger than fiction and that was the case here as James rose to sink the winning shot and delight those watching on. If it had been planned out by a famous screenwriter the critics would have labelled it unbelievable and unless you watched the game live, it was hard to swallow.
Team Durant was ahead going into the final quarter with the scoreboard reading 139 to 138. There had been little between the rivals in the first three quarters meaning the game was in the balance. When we see these situations in NBA, it’s often up to a real star of the show to stand up and be counted. Not every team has one of those match-winners in their ranks but in the All-Star match, both Team James and Team Durant had nothing but match winners. That’s when the cream rises to the top and that’s exactly what we saw from the captain of the victors.
LeBron may have scored the winner for his team, but it was Steph Curry who stole the show with his performance earning with the All-Star match Most Valuable Player prize and the Kobe Bryant trophy. It was nothing short of what he deserved following a sparkling performance and the winner of the trophy was never in doubt.
Curry chipped in with 50 points for his team which was just two points short of the record which was set by Anthony Davis. There was one record he did smash to pieces and that was the three-pointers, setting the standard at 16, a bar that is likely to remain in place for some time to come. The previous record was nine and that was set by Paul George in 2016. That gives a taste of the form Curry was in that day and he stood out from a star-studded pack.