The champs are champs again.
In this year’s mid-season classic, the All-Stars were divided into three teams of eight players, drafted by TNT’s Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were on Shaq’s team, a collection of “OG” veterans that included Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. The winner of Friday night’s Rising Stars competition was the 4th team in the field.
In the first game, Team Chuck defeated Team Kenny, 41-35. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way in scoring with 12 points for Team Chuck.
In the second game, Tatum and Brown took the floor for Team Shaq against the Rising Stars. The game started out slow with the guys starting the game like a typical All-Star game but as the game progressed, both sides began to lock in.
Tatum had 6 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds for the game, but he did miss an open corner 3 for the win, while Brown had 8 points and 1 steal. He also had a sweet dunk on a lob from his former Celtic teammate Kyrie Irving.
It was Bucks guard Damian Lillard who hit the game winning shot for Team Shaq in the first game.
In the championship game, Team Shaq defeated Team Chuck, 41-25.
Tatum dominated the game with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He shot 6/7 from the field and 3/4 from three-point range and also also had the game-winning basket.
Frankly, Tatum was robbed of the MVP.
Jayson Tatum finishes the night as the All-Star Game’s leading scorer with 21 points, accounting for just over ¼ of Team Shaq’s 83-point total.
He shot 9-11 from the field and 3-5 from three. Also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block.
Steph Curry took home MVP honors with 20… pic.twitter.com/D6BqaRnRCP
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) February 17, 2025
Jaylen Brown scored 4 points and had 2 rebounds in the championship game.
In the middle of the final game, there was a ceremony honoring Inside the NBA on TNT. They are headed to ESPN next season..
Like many on social media, Jaylen Brown was not a fan.
“I didn’t (know about the stoppage). I don’t know if the rest of the other guys knew. I didn’t know so that kinda of took the gas out of everything,” Brown said.
Tatum was also surprised by the stoppage. “The toughest part was they stopped the game for the presentation. It was tough to get back into the game after that,” Tatum said.
