MVP
James backs new All-Star format
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[February 19, 2018]
The NBA All-Star Game format was
all new Sunday, but the end result of LeBron James holding a Most
Valuable Player trophy was a familiar sight.
James scored 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out eight
assists to lead his handpicked Team LeBron to a 148-145 win over
Stephen Curry's Team Stephen in the All-Star Game at Staples Center
in Los Angeles.
The NBA this year abandoned the traditional All-Star format, Western
Conference players against Eastern Conference players, to allow the
top two vote-getters, James and Curry, to choose their sides. The
game featured far more defense than it did the past two years, when
the West won 196-173 in 2016 and 192-182 in 2017.
"(The new format) worked out not only for the players, not only for
the league, but for our fans, for everybody," James said. "It was a
great weekend, and we capped it off the right way. It had a
real-game feel to it. Steph and I took it upon ourselves to change
the landscape of the game."
James, 33, captured All-Star MVP honors for the third time, adding
to his awards in 2006 and 2008. The only other players in NBA
history with at least three All-Star MVP awards are Bob Petit
(four), Kobe Bryant (four), Oscar Robertson (three), Michael Jordan
(three) and Shaquille O'Neal (three).
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"From my very first All-Star up until now, I just try to get better
and better and not only show myself but show my peers and show
everybody that I belong," the Cleveland Cavaliers star said. "It's
always been my fans who voted me in.
"For 14 straight years, my fans have voted me in as an All-Star
starter, and it's been up to me to go out and let them know and show
them, listen, I appreciate that and here's what I'm going to give to
you every time you vote me in."
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James' dedication to the game was typified by the final play. With
James' team up by three in the final seconds, Curry got the ball in
the corner and was double-teamed by his Golden State Warriors
teammate, Kevin Durant, and James. Curry finally dished the ball to
DeMar DeRozan, who couldn't get off a shot before the buzzer.
"That was great defense by myself," Durant joked. "I'm patting
myself on the back."
--Field Level Media
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