NBA All-Star dunk, 3-point winners and losers: Damian Lillard shines
INGLEWOOD, CA. — NBA All-Star Saturday has faced some internal and external criticism over the overall state of the weekend and its viability moving forward.
Between Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard winning the 3-Point Contest during his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon and Keshad Johnson bringing infectious energy to the Slam Dunk Contest, there were definitely positive moments to take from the night.
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However, there are numerous points that deserve closer examination.
But how did All-Star Saturday go overall?
Here are the Saturday winners and losers of the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend.
WINNERS
Damian Lillard and his extraordinary achievement
I don’t want this to be lost on the casual fan: Damian Lillard is nine and a half months removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He is 35 years old. He had already won the 3-Point Contest twice, but his recovery and rehabilitation had been so monotonous and had taken him so far away from basketball that he felt he had to.
Thus he went on to score 56 points in both rounds, including 29 in the final round, tying Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players in history to win the 3-Point Contest three times.
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“I think this was necessary and it was necessary for the fans,” Lillard told reporters after the event. “… I wanted to be out there because that’s all I can do right now. It was an easy call.”
Keshad Johnson
He danced, expressed joy and brought coherence to what was, frankly, a disappointing event. But winning the Slam Dunk Contest is still a significant achievement and can boost a young player’s career.
Johnson has appeared in 21 games for the Heat and is averaging 3.1 points per game in 7.6 minutes per contest. Winning the event won’t convince Erik Spoelstra and the Heat staff to play it more, nor should it. But it will raise Johnson’s profile. All that needs to be said is that it represents an opportunity that he can seize if he continues to work on his game and improve his all-round skills.
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LOSERS
The dunk contest
This is not to diminish the accomplishments of Johnson, who brought infectious energy and high-level dunks to his routine. And no disrespect to the court, overall, but fans were deprived of the game’s biggest stars and most prolific spikers from competing in this event.
Perhaps many of those tuning in across the country had never heard of most, if not all four participants. The NBA, of course, can’t force players to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest, but it must increase incentives so that the league’s best dunkers are encouraged to participate.
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The last great Dunk Contest dates back to 10 years ago, in the battle between Aaron Gordon and future champion Zach LaVine.
Perhaps we simply have unrealistic expectations of dunk contests and should be okay with accepting that not all contests will be legendary. This may help some of the angst surrounding this event.
But, at the very least, fans have a right to creativity and should want to see things that push expectations of what slam dunks can be. This should not be compromised.
Shooting stars
It appears the NBA is trying to find a long-term replacement for the Skills Challenge, and this may be a case where less is more. The Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest are the main events of NBA All-Star Saturday, and it seems like that should be enough.
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The Shooting Stars competition was actually pretty close and provided some late excitement, but, if we’re going to get into shooting challenges, I wonder if some form of HORSE might appeal more to fan nostalgia.
“At this point it is what it is.”
The message that came from some of the game’s brightest stars Saturday at NBA All-Star media day was, frankly, disappointing. And, yes, we recognize that All-Star performances in every major North American sport are at risk of teetering toward irrelevance as athletes, understandably, tend to prefer time off and off during the middle seasons which can be intense.
But hearing Anthony Edwards, one of the most dynamic and exciting players in the world, essentially shrug when asked about the effort isn’t exactly the angle the NBA will want to attach to the weekend’s main event.
He wasn’t alone and honesty in press conferences is much appreciated. But it raises questions about whether there are better ways to honor All-Star players that maintain and increase fan engagement.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA All-Star winners and losers by dunk, 3-point contest