The video editors are the real MVPs, though.
Incredible work all around, here
From the jerseys to the MVP award to the rules of the game itself, the NBA All-Star Game was a tribute to Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. And there was no better way to set the tone than this video package produced by Dr. Dre.
Dre produced an original song to serve as the score of the slickly edited video tracing Kobe’s entire life and career. It was really fantastic.
Though Dr. Dre receives top billing, the real impressive work is done by the video editing duo of Gibson Hazard and Jack Bannon. Every time you watch the video, you notice two or three more cool editing tricks that you missed previously, like Rick Fox pounding his fist to the beat.
Hazard and Bannon have done similarly amazing work in the past for Diddy, Billie Eilish and Nike, among others.
Props to the NBA and TNT for actually crediting Hazard and Bannon. Ernie Johnson gave them a shoutout on the air and the NBA on TNT Twitter account tagged them in the post with the video, which has been liked over 67,000 times. The video has racked up over 4.3 million views on Twitter in only 14 hours and about a million on Facebook.
Defense? In an All-Star Game?
The new format for the NBA All-Star Game was an unquestionable success. The new fourth quarter system—where the teams raced to score 24 more points than the team leading had at the end of the third—went as well as the NBA could have hoped. The guys played harder than in a lot of regular season games and TNT’s decision to go commercial-free let the drama build.
There’s just one issue with the format: You can’t have a buzzer beater. There were a couple of attempted game-winners that didn’t fall, but it just doesn’t feel the same without the clock ticking down.
As exciting as the quarter was, it just didn’t feel right for the game to end on a free throw by Anthony Davis.
The dunk contest was incredible—and incredibly controversial
After years of lackluster dunk contests, Derrick Jones Jr., Aaron Gordon, Pat Connaughton and Dwight Howard put on a show on Saturday. Jones came out as the winner but Gordon was absolutely robbed after his dunk over Tacko Fall was given a lower score than Jones’s final windmill.
Gordon’s dunk over the 7'5" Fall is even more impressive when you realize it wasn’t planned ahead of time.
The rapper Common, one of the judges for the contest, told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the judges had intended for the final round between Jones and Gordon to end in a tie, but someone’s math was off.
It may seem silly to get all worked up over the dunk contest, but at least two of the game’s most electrifying players saw the result as reason not to participate in the contest going forward.
Ja Morant, who was a rumored participant this year, said the way the event played out has him grateful he didn’t sign up.
Gordon isn’t too eager to come back, either.
The best of SI
Kobe’s presence was felt all throughout All-Star Weekend. ... Meet the 400-pound former basketball player who’s the face of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ... Inside Mel Tucker’s surreal final hours at Colorado.
Around the sports world
Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner is seeking an order of protection against a woman who claims she receives sexual “signals” from Gardner on the field during games. ... Youth baseball leagues in California are banning the use of Astros as a team name. ... Matt McGloin, the quarterback for New York’s XFL team, ripped his team’s coaching staff during an on-field halftime interview and threw more barbs after the game. ... Ron Rivera had a yard sale to get rid of all his Panthers gear and raised over $30,000 for charity. ... Adam Silver says Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong tweet cost the NBA hundreds of millions of dollars.
Giannis really is a freak
He didn’t do anything!
Chaka Khan’s anthem was awful
Here’s an idea: What if you actually punished them?
Yu Darvish is handling this so well
Awful decision by the QB but still a great play
Congratulations to J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai
Bartolo Colon is a treasure
Oh my god
Not sports
A huge storm hit England over the weekend and brought waves up to 100 feet. ... A Massachusetts man met a woman on a dating app and then robbed a bank on their first date, turning her into an unwitting getaway driver. ... The once-popular HQ Trivia app shut down abruptly and the hosts got drunk on their last broadcast. ... The coronavirus could cause a shortage of vape products.
Don’t try this at home
Every man in Portland is a suspect
I’m not buying that he made the bob move with his thoughts but the of the clip is cool
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
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