Takeaways from Best Quotes at 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend (2024)

INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA's 2024 All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis is done.

And during the three-plus days the league took over the city's Convention Center, Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium, plenty of electric moments were delivered.

There was an upset in the Rising Stars games, shenanigans in the skills challenge, massive dunks in the dunk contest and lights-out shooting in both the three-point contest and a one-on-one shootout between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu.

However, the memorable moments extended beyond what happened on the floors of various venues. Some of the league's most recognizable athletes and media personalities provided plenty of memorable quotes as well.

And Bleacher Report was there to catalog all of it.

At media day, Kevin Durant was asked if he could see someone getting to Wilt Chamberlain's record of 100 points in a single game. Understandably, he answered with some reverence for that total.

"You watch Luka [Dončić's] 70-point game, and he's making tough shot after tough shot," KD said. "I definitely feel like someone can break that 80-point. 100 points would be tough to do in a game. You've got to make every shot and get a lot of shots up to get to 100. But I think somebody could get 80."

Prior to TNT's Inside the NBA on Thursday, Shaquille O'Neal fielded the same question. After lamenting the league's unwillingness to allow players to get physical with opponents, he told a group of reporters: "I would put my money on Steph."

"Imagine him hitting 15 threes," Shaq added, after talking about Curry's recent streak of games with at least seven triples. "Twenty threes."

Given this season's scoring explosion and some of the individual performances we've seen (like Joel Embiid getting to 70 and Luka Dončić getting to 73), for the first time in decades, it somehow, maybe, under just the right circ*mstances, feels possible.

And Shaq's blueprint is probably the way.

A game would have to be close. The scorer would almost certainly need a double-digit total for threes. Probably free throws, too. If you break it up by quarter, it's 25 for each one, and we've seen multiple players get over 30 in a single frame in recent years (like Klay Thompson's 37 in 2015 or Kevin Love's 34 in 2016).

Wilt's 100 is still among sports' loftiest records, but the evolution in the game has suddenly made it feel within reach.

By points scored per 100 possessions, each of the top five, 13 of the top 16 and 16 of the top 29 offenses of all time come from this 2023-24 campaign.

"Because they don't play defense!" Charles Barkley said when presented with those numbers, adding, "These teams ain't good enough to get 125, 130 a night."

Of course, from a technical standpoint, Barkley's comments are at odds with the fact that all 30 teams have gotten to at least 125 at least two times this season. In total, that threshold has been passed 405 times.

But the spirit of the comment has actually been a pretty common refrain from media and former players this season.

The active players deserve credit for the general increase in skill level, particularly outside shotmaking, but just about any random game will present you with trips to the free-throw line for seemingly insignificant contact.

Barkley also lamented some of today's foul-drawing tricks, such as the rip-through, the pause coming off a ball screen, or the back dribble into an oncoming defender. High individual free-throw totals came up as well. Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo have six of the top 10 free-throw-attempt-per-game seasons from the past 20 years.

From an aesthetics standpoint, there has to be some kind of balance.

No one should be clamoring for the 90-85 affairs of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Physicality to the point of danger or risk of injuries doesn't need to make a comeback.

But a little more resistance wouldn't hurt, either.

For years, we've talked about the apparent difference in officiating and the amount of contact allowed between the regular and postseason. Maybe it's time to shrink (or preferably, eliminate) that gap.

Victor Wembanyama struggled a bit in the Rising Stars game, turning the ball over five times in 12 minutes, but his rising star is undeniable.

And one of the 15-20 greatest players of all time affirmed that at media day.

"Man, that dude can achieve anything he wants in this game," Durant said of the 7'4" phenom. "He's only getting more comfortable as time goes on. Twenty, 10, 3.5 blocks a game, two or three assists. It's just insane how dominant he's going to be as he gets more comfortable in the game. Luckily I'm on my way out, so I won't have to deal with it too much."

Wemby immediately stands out in every game he plays, including the aforementioned Rising Stars affair. His struggles controlling the ball were as much a product of the environment as anything else. It was an exhibition game. He and his teammates had their foot off the gas against a team of G Leaguers (and paid for it by losing), but there are impacts he can't help but make naturally.

On defense, he's like a curtain draped in front of the rim. There's seemingly no shot he can't affect. On the other end, there's seemingly no pass near the bucket that's outside his reach. And of course, his ability to create and score from the perimeter is unprecedented for a player of his size. We've already seen threes, step-backs, shamgods, off-the-backboard dunks. He's audacious, and he just turned 20.

Durant's right. There is no ceiling. As he and some of the other faces of the league over the past two decades start to filter out, the NBA is still in good hands.

"You look around the league—I'm going to miss a lot of guys, but you see Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander, [Anthony Edwards], Devin Booker, Luka, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton," Durant said. "There are so many guys inspiring the next generation of hoopers after them to become basketball players that you can't just pinpoint it to one or two guys."

The leaguewide uptick in scoring has been an ever-present topic of conversation this season. As already noted, it came up with both Shaq and Barkley at a media availability on Thursday.

While some former players, as well as fans whose formative years with the league were in the 1990s and early 2000s, may take issue with basketball's new form, Curry doesn't sound too worried about it.

"I like the brand of basketball, because everybody who is out there can put the ball on the floor, for the most part, can, like I said, be a threat to shoot," Curry said on media day. "You're going to see a sway toward higher scoring, but I think the cycle of the league, it will reset itself at this point. I don't know how quickly that will happen or what rules will change this summer and the following summer, but I personally like the brand of basketball that's being played because it highlights the amount of talent that we have around the league."

There's probably still a balance to be struck. The 115.5 points per game being scored this season almost feels unnatural (though maybe that's the '90s kid in me writing), but Curry's perspective is a good counter to much of the criticism (even if that criticism is fair).

For whatever reason, the NBA decided to abandon the target score (or Elam Ending) for the All-Star Game.

For the uninitiated, the rule removes the clock from the end of the game and replaces it with a target score, generally eliminating the need for late-game fouling and ensuring every contest ends with a game-winner.

An example might help. If the target score in a regular-season game was 25, and Team A was beating Team B, 80-75, after the third quarter, the clock could be turned off for the fourth in favor of both teams racing to 105 (80 plus 25).

It's even simpler in the Rising Stars contests, where the first two games were untimed exhibitions to 40. Then, the winners of those played each other in an untimed contest to 25.

When asked whether the format added "juice" to the game, Chet Holmgren endorsed the rule.

"I guess you could say that because, if you just do a normal format where it's timed and a team's up big when the clock gets low, there's no incentive to really start playing hard," he said. "Yeah, I think it's a good idea. I'm going to leave it at that. Good idea, yeah."

Under Adam Silver, the NBA isn't averse to change. He's already added the play-in and In-Season tournaments. And while the Elam Ending is probably too dramatic a change for a full implementation right now, perhaps the league could at least experiment with it for regular-season overtimes.

Mac McClung winning the NBA's past two dunk contests serves as a pretty good illustration of how difficult it is to make (and then stay in) the league.

He is one of the absolute best athletes on the planet. His explosiveness and creativity in the air are borderline unparalleled (and unprecedented).

Seeing a 6'2" player consistently get his eyes to the rim is incredible. But he's now 25 years old and has only logged 65 total regular-season minutes in the NBA.

While a player in his situation could easily be discouraged or even feel aggrieved, McClung's post-dunk contest comments show he's not.

"There's so many people that came at me before this, like, 'Oh, man, you should be mad. You want to be in the NBA. You deserve to be in the NBA.' And I do believe I do," he said. "But I also think this is my human experience, and I think it's my human experience for a reason because, without this grind and struggle, I probably wouldn't be able to impact like I do and have been lucky enough to do things like this. So this is my story, and I've really embraced it. I'm going to keep fighting. I'm not going to quit no matter any other outcome."

The storybook ending is McClung riding this wave of momentum into a real role with an NBA team, but that's not guaranteed for anyone. There's nothing wrong with a few twists and turns along the way, especially if the protagonist is on board for them.

Prior to All-Star Saturday Night, Bleacher Report sat down with Karl-Anthony Towns to discuss his Minnesota Timberwolves, his defense, endorsem*nts from Starry, the upcoming postseason and his viral moment from this past summer.

There was plenty of reaction to the 28-year-old saying he hopes people will look back on his career as someone who "changed the game," but that kind of confidence is almost a prerequisite to get to his level. His outside shooting truly could be described as evolutionary.

Obviously, predecessors and contemporaries like Dirk Nowitzki and Kristaps Porziņģis helped pave the way for Towns, but seven-footers averaged 0.6 three-point attempts per game in the last pre-Towns season. In 2023-24, they're taking 1.6 threes per game.

Towns told B/R that he's grateful "to be able to help big men be able to do more and more," and he absolutely deserves some credit for the shift.

Among seven-footers with at least 5,000 career minutes, he's third in three-point attempts per game. Among those with at least 500 career three-point attempts, he's first in three-point percentage.

Joel Embiid hasn't appeared in a game for the Philadelphia 76ers since July 30, and he's likely still weeks away from a return (assuming he comes back at all).

His injury has undoubtedly changed this season (and its outlook) for both the team and Tyrese Maxey.

"It's been different," Maxey told B/R at an event for Starry. "More traps, box-and-ones. For me, it's all new. I didn't see that type of stuff in high school and college."

He admitted that the new experience may have slowed him down a bit, but he's also crediting it for some development.

"Let me find different ways to attack," Maxey said. "Find different ways to get my guys shots. Get us going that way."

On the season, he's now averaging 30.0 points and 5.6 assists per 75 possessions, with a 57.2 true shooting percentage when Embiid is off the floor. Even if the assists and scoring efficiency are slightly down from what he's putting up with Embiid, that's superstar-level production that can keep Philadelphia in the hunt for a decent playoff seed.

Whether the reigning MVP returns or not, these reps for Maxey and the rest of the roster could pay dividends in the long run.

The supporting cast, now led by a 23-year-old All-Star combo guard, is learning how to survive without the big man. Between now and a possible return, the team is trying to "focus on how we can win games right now," Maxey said.

And he's proving capable of helping them do that as a bona fide No. 1.

It's safe to say the fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium for the dunk contest did not approve of the judges' scoring of the affair.

They were particularly (and understandably) upset with some of the marks given to Jaylen Brown. The unfortunate product of their frustration was a storm of boos just about every time the Boston Celtics star was featured.

Now, I don't say that to scold the fans. Booing is a time-honored tradition, and the fans deserve to be heard. What was unfortunate is that the booing seemed directed at Brown, when it was probably more directed at the judges.

For other stars thinking about maybe getting into the dunk contest in the future, the reaction could have a discouraging effect.

To Brown's credit, he didn't seem impacted by the reactions during the course of the contest. Afterward, he said he achieved his goal.

"I think ultimately, in this media era, some players are afraid to make it into a meme or anything like that," he said. "Like I wanted to come out and have fun with it, and that's what I did."

Kudos to him. More stars should be willing to put themselves on the line the way he did on Saturday.

In retrospect, the most memorable event of the entire All-Star weekend may well have been the one-on-one shootout between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu.

Both shot the lights out. Both redirected praise to the other before and after the event. Both drew massive, overwhelmingly positive reactions from the crowd. The whole thing was quick (but not too quick). It felt like it had a little extra gravitas with Ernie Johnson doing the introductions and interviews.

From beginning to end, it was executed brilliantly, all the way through Curry's game-winning shots and walk-off dance.

And it could serve as a memorable and inspiring moment for both girls and boys.

"I think it's going to show a lot of young kids out there, a lot of people who might have not believed or even watched women's sports that we're able to go out there and put on a show," Ionescu said afterward. "So it was really exciting to finally be able to do this. Like Steph said, it happened perfectly."

For decades, most of the game's most marketable stars were giants, super-athletes or both. Curry, and now Ionescu, are probably both underappreciated in terms of those physical attributes, but their most important skill is the shooting.

And that's something anyone can learn to do.

There will surely be plenty of fans and analysts on both sides of this debate.

In a way, the 211-186 final score of Sunday's All-Star game was fun. It was novel. Seeing records broken is cool. And just eclipsing 200 points is obviously noteworthy.

But that score will also open the league and its February showcase event up to scrutiny. Lack of defense has already been a talking point all season, and this won't help on that front.

All-Star MVP Damian Lillard spoke on the potential problem after the game.

"I think something could be done about it," he said. "I'm not sure what. But I think there's a way to make it a more competitive game."

Whether it's bringing back the target score (or Elam Ending), offering some kind of monetary bonus or tying the result of the game to home-court advantage in the Finals (probably my least favorite solution, given the importance of the Finals), the league likely needs to do something to make the game feel more real.

On balance, this entire weekend was a win for the NBA. And again, plenty of fans were probably fine with Sunday's game. But 200-plus points in a single contest just fundamentally isn't what we've come to know as basketball.