Throughout the NBA All-Star Weekend, it was Dame time.
Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks was voted the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP on Sunday after scoring 39 points and 11 3-pointers to lead the Eastern Conference to a 211-186 victory against the West.
He joined Michael Jordan in 1988 as the only players in league history to win a Saturday night event and be chosen MVP on the same All-Star weekend.
Lillard won the 3-point challenge, defeating Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns and Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young in the final round. Jordan won the dunk contest in 1988.
“Anytime you’re mentioned in the same category as Mike, it’s an honor and a major accomplishment,” Lillard went on to say. “Even if it’s All-Star Weekend, because if it was that simple, more people would’ve done it since 1988, so that’s a major accomplishment for me to be mentioned in the same conversation as far as that.”I did come into the weekend knowing I was going to shoot three-pointers, and I came to win. I didn’t come to be casual and cool with it… I’m going to make my first start in the All-Star Game, and I’m going to be on the court a lot. I’m a veteran in this game at this point, so why not attempt to win MVP? I’d simply say that was something I focused on this weekend, and I was able to do it.”
Lillard, in his first season with the Bucks, became the sixth player in NBA history to earn All-Star Game MVP in his first season, excluding rookies.
He also became the 20th player to earn All-Star MVP while playing for his coach during that season; Doc Rivers of Milwaukee coached the East squad, which scored the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous best was 196, set by the West in 2016.
Lillard said that the East wanted the record.
“Everybody was asking what the record was,” Lillard added. “We found out and went after it.”
And Lillard closed it off in style with a 44-footer.
Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns stated he watched Lillard from the West bench while sitting next to Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers. “We were in awe,” Durant added.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics led the East with 36 points, while Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers scored 32. The Indianapolis audience booed Lillard’s MVP proclamation, preferring to see Haliburton accept the award.
“I was just going to keep shooting until I missed … just having fun, playing basketball,” he added. “I didn’t know how many minutes I was going to play, didn’t know how my leg would feel, but I felt good today, even after the one-legged dunk, so that’s positive for me.”It wasn’t a high-intensity workout, but it feels wonderful to be feeling well, and maybe I can keep it up going ahead.”
Towns tallied 50 points for the West in only 28 minutes. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for the West.
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Damian Lillard of the Bucks has been selected the MVP of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.
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