It's NBA All-Star Weekend, but not all the stars will shine equally. To highlight the best and worst performances all weekend long in Salt Lake City, we're grading the participants in every event from the Rising Stars on Friday through Sunday's All-Star Game.
The NBA All-Star Game featured a twist on the draft format used since 2018, having captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks draft their teammates live on stage moments before the game.
While that created some humorous moments, including Nikola Jokic drafting himself to Team LeBron -- he later explained he didn't realize Lauri Markkanen was still available to be picked -- the change plus the target-score format in use since 2020 didn't do much to create competition in an All-Star Game that will be remembered partially for the lack of defense.
That shouldn't take away from the accomplishment of Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who earned MVP honors with a historic performance in Team Giannis' 184-175 win, breaking the All-Star Game record with 55 points to lead Team Giannis to a long-awaited victory.
Tatum obviously earned an A grade. What about the rest of the players in Sunday's showcase event?
Jump to grades: All-Star Game | Dunks, 3s and skills | Rising Stars
ALL-STAR GAME
Team Giannis
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Grade: Incomplete
Stats
2 PTS | 1-1 FG
Analysis
Dealing with an injury to his right wrist, team captain Giannis took the court for the opening tipoff and dunked gingerly for the fans before taking a foul and heading to the bench. As a GM, Antetokounmpo earned an A, putting together a team capable of overcoming the hardship of his own absence and still spoiling Team LeBron's perfect 5-0 record during the drafted teams era.