No one had more fun than Stephen Curry at the NBA All Star Game in 2021. Curry did not hit the game-changing shot in Atlanta on Sunday – it was Damian Lillard – but before the shot even went up, he waved goodbye and walked to the bench. He also did not win the MVP – it was Giannis Antetokounmpo – but he celebrated Giannis’ buckets as if they were his. Curry missed the All-Star weekend last year due to a broken hand, and in a showcase that certainly felt different than usual, it was encouraging to see him back where he belongs, and bring his particular joy along.
Curry made his mark even before the game started, with a performance in the three-point game and even had the courtesy to leave the result in doubt until his last shot of the second round. It was his second win in the competition and his first experience with the “MTN Dew Zone”, the place six feet behind the 3-point line from which players must take two shots in each round. When he saw three of his four hit from there, the whole thing felt a little unfair. Trophy in hand, he dedicated the victory to his Splash Brother. Klay Thompson was also unable to attend Chicago last year after recovering from a torn ACL, and was certainly looking forward to returning to this stage with Curry before tearing his Achilles tendon in November.
While playing for Team LeBron early in the main event, Curry gave a game that left many stars extremely opposed to the much-needed energy. After Zion Williamson missed a dunk, Curry threw a left-handed, no-look pass on the quick break to set up Nikola Jokic for a dunk.
One side in the corner, he turns around after releasing his lap and listens to the reaction to confirm that it is as pure as it feels.
The highlights kept coming. He hit a logo 3 of LeBron James, and then another over Zach LaVine after losing his dribble. He drop a two-handed alley-open dunk by Chris Paul and hung on the edge for effect, then the two future HOFers rolls over and done it again. After a turn just a step inside the halfway point, Curry went into halftime with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting. He finished 10-for-19 for 28 points in 22 minutes.
Unlike the All-Star 2020 match, the defense was terrible for most of the match and was not particularly dramatic in the last few minutes, as Team Durant’s 21-point deficit after three quarters dulled the impact of the Elam Ending has. While the halftime dunk game had its moments, even the best dunks were not quite what they could have been – champion Anfernee Simons did not actually kissing the edge, runner-up Obi Toppin was not even subtle about his knockdown. But at least we had to see the greatest shooter of all time scorch the earth in the three-point game, playing with LeBron for the first time and yells at Lillard from the bench not to box out. Imperfect as this evening of basketball-related entertainment was possible, Curry made the most of it.