NBA All-Star Saturday: Dinwiddie Did Win It

When it comes to a hoops version of multi-tasking, a pair of Pac-12 alumni showed better than the Pac-12 itself is doing this season.

Same goes for a pair of pros who matriculated in the Bluegrass state.

Like the NHL's All-Star Saturday, the NBA's day-before events are coming close to overshadowing the game itself.

Unlike the NHL's format, this league invites players who weren't selected as All-Stars for the skill stuff.

 

The ratings seem to hold steady, no matter which players are doing the fun-&-games, so what the hell.

 

The most impressive thing about the Skills Challenge is everyone got to see a real, live chest pass. Who knew those things worked in color as well as black-&-white?

Except maybe for the game's Dude of Dudes:

 

Ironically, the European hoopsters have the rep of being fundamentally sound at everything. Seems like this skill is one that eluded Finland's Lauri Markkanen, who matriculated quite well at Arizona.

Not so for ex-Colorado Buffalo Spencer Dinwiddie:

 

Klay Thompson was the marquée name for the long-range bombing contest.

However, it was former Kentucky Wildcat Devin Booker racking up a bitta face time and ultimate glory for the Phoenix Suns in a record-breaking kinda way:

 

Then, of course, was the NBA's version of figure skating, high dives, and whatever else counts on judges' whims to determine a victor.

The difference in the dunk-a-thon is no one really cares. The point anymore is abstract athleticism.

This year, ex-Louisville Cardinal Donovan Mitchell was the Dali of Dunk:

 

 

All in all, Dinwiddie won the day, just for being able to say he's the NBA's skills champion.

Huzzah.

Now, shower up and give the All-Stars a turn.