Category: Basketball

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke Saturday during All-Star Weekend about the league’s hot-button issues, including tanking, the lottery, expansion and the league’s pending investigation into whether the Clippers arranged a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap. 

When it comes to tanking, Silver, who fined the Jazz $500,000 and the Pacers $100,000 on Thursday for recently sitting star players in games, said he believes the problem is becoming increasingly pervasive. 

“We’ve got to look at some fresh thinking here,” Silver said. “What we’re doing, what we’re seeing right now is not working. There’s no question about it. Yes, is there more I can do? Have I attempted not only to respond to behavior we’ve seen but send a clear message that we’re going to be scrutinizing everything we see going forward? Absolutely.”

Silver added that the NBA Competition Committee began earlier this season “reexamining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.” When asked if there have been discussions about taking draft picks away from teams that tank instead of fining them, he didn’t hesitate.  

“There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior.” Silver said.

As for expansion, when Silver was asked if reports were true about Seattle and Las Vegas being front-runners to secure new NBA franchises, Silver cautioned that nothing has been decided. 

“We will make decisions in 2026,” he said. “I think in fairness to the cities, Seattle and Las Vegas in particular, I’ve been very clear, I don’t want to tease teams. I don’t want to tease cities or mislead anyone. I think we wanted to get through collective bargaining, national television deals. We’ve done that, and now we’ve turned to it as a league.

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“My sense is at the March Board of Governors meetings we’ll be having further discussions around an expansion process. We won’t be voting at the March meeting, but we will likely come out of those meetings ready, prepared to take a next step in terms of potentially talking to interested parties.”

Silver also made it clear that the league isn’t necessarily looking to add two teams specifically, clarifying that an expansion “doesn’t have to be any number of teams.”

Meanwhile, the elephant in the room of All-Star Weekend is that while Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is showing off his $2 billion arena (Intuit Dome) that’s hosting the events, he and his team are being investigated regarding allegations that they circumvented the salary cap to retain Leonard by helping secure him a $28 million endorsement deal with the company Aspiration.

Ballmer and the Clippers have staunchly denied those allegations. And the NBA hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the matter. 

“I haven’t come to any decisions whatsoever yet on the Clippers matter,” Silver said. “… From everything I’ve been told, the Clippers have been fully cooperative. But as I said, I’m not involved day to day in the investigation.”

Silver added that the situation is “enormously complex.”

“You have a company in bankruptcy (Aspiration),” Silver said. “You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed.

“I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office, and that’s where things now stand.”

When Silver was asked to what extent he’s beholden to the CBA and the NBA’s Constitution in regard to any punishment that would be handed out for a salary cap circumvention, he was definitive. 

“I am completely beholden to the constitution and the CBA,” he said. “I believe in the rule of law. I have broad powers in certain areas, but those are broad powers that are granted to me by those very documents.”

Keshad Johnson won the 2026 NBA slam dunk contest at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Johnson, a second-year player for the Miami Heat, did enough with his two dunk attempts in the final round to beat out San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant.

Bryant produced a perfect score on his first dunk attempt of the final round, but couldn’t complete his initial dunk on his second attempt, which made the difference in the contest.

Johnson showed a level of confidence and showmanship with his dunks and dancing on the court as a representative of the Bay Area.

Keshad Johnson NBA stats

Johnson has averaged 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 37 games played during his two seasons with the Miami Heat. Johnson has also competed in the G-League.

When was Keshad Johnson drafted?

Johnson went undrafted in 2024. He signed a two-way contract with the Heat on July 1, 2024. His contract was converted from a two-way contract to a regular contract by Miami on Dec. 26, 2024.

Where did Keshad Johnson go to college?

Johnson spent the first four seasons of his college career with San Diego State, from 2019 to 2023. He decided to transfer to Arizona for his final season of eligibility. He started the last 107 games he played in college career.

Keshad Johnson college stats

Johnson averaged 7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and one assist per game in 149 games played during his college career.

Where did Keshad Johnson go to high school?

The forward went to San Leandro High School, just south of Oakland, California.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Keshad Johnson? Meet NBA dunk contest champ

The 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest was an exciting finale to NBA All-Star Saturday Night, held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Feb. 14.

It was a dunk show featuring San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson, and Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson.

A second-year forward out of Arizona, Johnson was crowned champion of the slam dunk Contest. An Oakland native, Johnson represented for the Bay Area from his introduction to every dunk, which was followed by a little dance.

"First and foremost, thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for allowing me to be here. Everybody's journey is different," Johnson said. "So all the kids out there, keep dreaming. Have crazy faith. Crazy faith, not just regular faith. Have crazy faith. Anything can happen."

Johnson danced his way to victory with showstopping dunks, showing an array of moves and love to California along the way.

"I just came out here and showed the people who Showtime was. We had all the legends out. I'm from California, brought my own Bay Area swag to L.A. We're all one. It's for the whole West Coast right here, baby," Johnson said. "In the Bay, we do it a little different, you know, we got our own little swag. So I had to bring the legend E-40 out, you know? And do my little thizz, do my little smeeze, put on, you know. And I'm also taking this back to the 305, in Miami too."

Johnson said it's a blessing to be in his shoes.

"I would just say like the blessing that God give me, it's abundant," he said. "They keep flooding, they keep flooding, and it's really beyond, beyond my comprehension. So that's why I just have to take a second and really thank Him. I'm speechless right now. It's the Lord. I give it all credit to the Lord, all glory to God."

Check out the highlights from the 2026 slam dunk contest, including all dunks and scores from the competition.

2026 NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND: NBA All-Star results: 3-point contest, dunk contest highlights

2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest highlights

The dunk competition order in the first round went as followed:

• Carter Bryant, San Antonio Spurs
• Jase Richardson, Orlando Magic
• Keshad Johnson, Miami Heat
• Jaxson Hayes, Los Angeles Lakers

Check out some of the dunks and highlights from Saturday's slam dunk showcase:

NBA Slam Dunk Contest: First Round

Spurs guard and Southern California-native Carter Bryant got things going as he walked on to the floor with "Still Dre" by Dr. Dre playing in the background.

His first dunk was an ode to Vince Carter, as Bryant pulled out a 360-degree windmill jam.

He scored a 45.6 on the first dunk.

Riverside’s Carter Bryant walks out to Still Dre

On the first try he went up, down, and around on a 360 windmill, earning a 45.6 from the judges

Ridiculous degree of difficulty pic.twitter.com/VqqGblIDmE

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) February 15, 2026

Jase Richardson, who is the son of 2002 and 2003 NBA dunk contest winner Jason Richardson, opened with a tribute to his pops.

He served up a self-toss, double-pump reverse windmill jam. He scored a 45.4 on his first attempt.

the replay angle of Jase Richardson's first dunk! 🔥 https://t.co/AOlFTjD1Kipic.twitter.com/AcsOe3Wg7N

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) February 15, 2026

Take a look at his dad's dunk over 20 years ago.

Keshad Johnson represented for the Bay Area, the Oakland native bringing out legendary rapper E-40, as they were giggin' and going dumb to 40 Water's "Tell Me When To Go."

For his dunk choice, Johnson brought out a rock-the-cradle, Dr. J-esque type dunk as he leaped over E-40, while displaying the hand over the head, Karl "Mailman" Malone style.

To cap his dunk, he gave the fans his best dougie. He scored a 47.4 for the dunk, not the dance.

Keshad Johnson over E-40 at @ATT Slam Dunk 😳

Tap to watch: https://t.co/BpnjnxQ8vCpic.twitter.com/zGQfU8kDdR

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes seemed a little nervous and had a less-than-impressive first dunk, but he was saved by Dwight Howard, a judge, who gave a generous 47 score to keep the fellow big man in contention.

Hayes scored a 44.6 overall.

Jaxson Hayes SLAMS it down with ease for his first dunk 🔥pic.twitter.com/BZM70uACa4

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 15, 2026

Hayes scored the lowest on his first dunk so he was the first to land a second dunk. For his second choice, he decided to spice things up a bit.

The Lakers' seventh-year center went with a self-toss, tap to himself before going for an East Bay, between-the-legs funk dunk. He was awarded a 47.2 on the second dunk.

Jaxson Hayes taps it to himself & goes between the legs for his second slam in @ATT Slam Dunk 😤

Tap to watch: https://t.co/BpnjnxQ8vCpic.twitter.com/pBALENoNJ0

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026

Richardson couldn't get a clean toss and couldn't get a great look for a slam. He even fell hard on his back and was down for a split second.

Jase Richardson almost Just died pic.twitter.com/LpdcbUN5gG

— John (@iam_johnw) February 15, 2026

He sprang back up and completed a 360-degree dunk, which earned him a 43.4 for the second dunk.

A rough go of it for #Magic rookie Jase Richardson on his second dunk, which included a scary fall.

But he was able to recover with a nice backup dunk for a score of 43.4 to bring his total to 88.8.

Alas, he won’t advance in the Slam Dunk Contest. pic.twitter.com/z5f0dM04Kt

— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) February 15, 2026

Bryant, on his second dunk, gave the crowd a self-toss, windmill jam where he nearly saw inside of the rim he was so high. He earned a 49.2 on the dunk. He advanced to the final round.

CARTER BRYANT BEST DUNK OF THE NIGHT SO FAR. 😮‍💨

pic.twitter.com/BPgGq5KMrv

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 15, 2026

Johnson, who earned the nickname "Flight 305," scored a 45.4 on his second dunk, which was a reverse cradle, two-hand slam. He advanced to the final round with the jam.

Johnson "squabbled up" after the dunk, this dance being more LA-inspired, fitting for the site of All-Star weekend.

Keshad Johnson’s second dunk moves him into the FINAL!

(via @MiamiClip) pic.twitter.com/FhgaOamycX

— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) February 15, 2026

Final Round: Carter Bryant vs. Keshad Johnson

Johnson opened the final round with a self-toss, between-the-legs reverse dunk. He scored a nearly-perfect, 49.6 score for his first dunk of the final round.

His dance afterwards, just a little smeeze dance, another ode to the Bay Area.

The degree of difficulty on this dunk from Keshad Johnson is ABSURD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/5GLpadzizm

— Whistle (@WhistleSports) February 15, 2026

Bryant, in the final round, answered Johnson's opening dunk with a jaw-dropping jam of his own. Bryant brought out the self-toss, between-the-legs at the front of the rim.

He was given a perfect 50 for the action.

CARTER BRYANT WITH A 50 🔥

He needs a 47.5 on his final attempt to win @ATT Slam Dunk!

Tap to watch: https://t.co/Cc3TznvNLrpic.twitter.com/YMeqAi2whh

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026

Johnson, for his final dunk attempt, responded with a one-handed windmill from just inside the free throw line. He got a 47.8 score which put him in position to secure the win.

Another look at the winning dunk by Keshad Johnson. That’s that #HeatCulturepic.twitter.com/Jghy1r22Uf

— 𝔴𝔞𝔡𝔡𝔩𝔢 (@waddlecity) February 15, 2026

It was Bryant's contest to win but multiple misses in the final round as time ticked down led to his demise. He attempted a between-the-legs self-toss, 180-degree reverse two-hand jam. He never made it.

He wouldn't go without a jam, finishing with a 360-degree slam as the dunk clock wound down. He earned a 43 for it.

Unaware of the rules, Bryant could've allowed time to expire and chose one dunk to attempt.

Carter Bryant MISSED 3 DUNKS 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/5pcTvNnWHY

— Logion Noops (@LogionNoops) February 15, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA dunk contest highlights as Keshad Johnson wins

On a holiday celebrating love and affection, thousands of enthusiastic basketball fans showed up at Intuit Dome to cheer for their favorite NBA players in a trifecta of skills competitions on the eve of the league’s 75th annual All-Star Game.

Getting Saturday off to a scintillating start was the three-point contest — one of All-Star Weekend’s most coveted prizes since Larry Bird won the initial contest in 1986 as well as the next two.

Portland’s Damian Lillard joined Bird and Craig Hodges (1990-92) as the only three-time winners with a stunning exhibition in the final round, ending up with a score of 29 — two better than runner-up and 2018 champion Devin Booker of Phoenix. Lillard equaled the best final-round score, set by Karl-Anthony Towns in 2022.

“I came out here excited to do it,” said Lillard, a nine-time All-Star who is sitting out this season after surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon last April. “I can’t say I knew I’d win but I came in confident. This is my sixth time doing it … this felt like a game to me.”

Lillard went second in the finals and watched anxiously from the bench as it looked like Booker would overtake him before missing his last three shots from the corner.

“At the end I was at his mercy but it worked out,” said Lillard, who won with 26 points in 2023 and 2024. “I was once a fan too — as a kid I went to the All-Star Game in Oakland— and fans want to see their guys. That’s what made me want to be a part of it.”

Read more:Complete coverage: NBA All-Star Weekend 2026

In the first round, eight players had 70 seconds to shoot 27 balls from five designated spots on the court. Booker posted the highest score (30) and also making the finals with 27 points each were Lillard and Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel. Donovan Mitchell (24), Norman Powell (23), Jamal Murray (18), Tyrese Maxey (17) and Bobby Portis Jr. (15) were eliminated.

Next up was the shooting stars competition, which returned to All-Star Weekend after a 10-year hiatus and featured four teams, each consisting of two current NBA players and one retired “legend.”

Jalen Brunson, Towns and Allan Houston led Team Knicks to a 47-38 triumph over Team Cameron, made up of Duke alums Jalen Johnson, Knueppel and Corey Maggette, a former Clipper.

“This was cool and the game’s become more and more international,” said Brunson, who got passes from his dad, Rick, a New York assistant coach. “Basketball is a universal language. Winning’s always fun, not just beating a team from Duke.”

In the semifinals, Team Knicks beat Team Harper (Dylan Harper of San Antonio, Ron Harper Jr. of Boston and their father, five-time NBA champion Ron Harper) while Team Cameron beat Team All-Star (Scottie Barnes of Toronto, Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City and three-time All-Star Richard Hamilton).

Was it a case of the old guy carrying the young guys?

“He did his job,” Towns joked about Houston, who played for the Knicks from 1996 to 2005 and serves as general manager of their G League team.

Shooting stars was a regular feature from 2004 to 2015 and originally featured an NBA player, a WNBA player and a retired player on each team shooting from four locations. This year, each team had 70 seconds to score points by shooting from seven areas worth anywhere from two to four points.

Rounding out the Valentine’s Day festivities was the crowd-pleasing slam-dunk contest, showcasing the individuality and athleticism of its four first-time participants: Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, San Antonio forward Carter Bryant, Miami forward Keshad Johnson and Orlando rookie guard Jase Richardson.

Johnson, who measured a 42-inch vertical leap at the 2024 draft combine, ultimately raised the gold trophy following a final round total of 97.4. He made a side-to-side move at the rim on his penultimate attempt, then sprinted the length of the court and soared for a windmill jam on his last effort.

“Everyone make some noise,” the jubilant Johnson told the roomful of reporters afterward. “It’s a dream. I beat the odds. Every year I watched the dunk contest and I learned from all the people before me.” 

Bryant settled for second with 93 despite a perfect score of 50 after he bounced the ball off the floor, under his leg for a one-handed stuff that drew thunderous applause on his first try before making a less-difficult 360-degree shot with time running out on his second attempt.

“I really wanted him to finish that last one,” Johnson said. “Both of us are from U of A [Arizona], so we wanted to put on a show and we did.”  

In the opening round all four players attempted two dunks, receiving a score between 40 and 50 per try. Bryant (94.8) and Johnson (92.8) qualified for the final dunk-off, in which both got two more attempts.

“Dunking is an art and it’s kind of hard to come up with new stuff,” said Johnson, an Oakland native who leaped over Bay Area rapper E-40 on his first dunk. “My goal is to just be myself and put my own flavor in it.”

Spurred on by the hometown crowd, Hayes was third at 91.8 while Richardson, the son of two-time winner Jason Richardson, was last at 88.8.

Judging were former champions Nate Robinson, Dominique Wilkins, Brent Barry, former Lakers center Dwight Howard and fans on the NBA app.

Julius Irving won the first dunk contest in 1976, the year before the ABA-NBA merger. Robinson (2006, 2009, 2010) and Mac McClung are the only three-time winners. McClung, the previous champion and only player to win three years in a row, announced in January he would not defend his title.

That opened the door for a new winner in Johnson.

“Being undrafted and in the G League and being the underdogs at San Diego State… I’ve learned how to dream dreams,” said Johnson, who keyed the Aztecs' surprising run to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 in 2023 before transferring to Arizona. “I’m so grateful to be here. I’m from Oakland, the West Coast is home to me and I felt like the fans were with me.”

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nate Ament scored 22 points, including nine of Tennessee's last 11 points, and the Volunteers defeated LSU 73-63 on Saturday night.

The game was tied six times, the last at 50-all before Ja’Kobi Gillespie buried two 3-pointers and J.P. Estrella scored on three tip-ins to send Tennessee to a 62-53 lead with seven minutes left.

Marquel Sutton scored seven points to get LSU within 64-60 two minutes later, but Ament closed out the win with a jumper and five free throws.

Ament was just 6-of-19 shootings but 10 of 11 from the line. He had nine rebounds. This was the freshman's sixth 20-point game in the last nine.

Estrella had 16 points and nine rebounds and Gillespie scored 12 for the Volunteers (18-7, 8-4 SEC).

Sutton and Jalen Reece each scored 15 points, Pablo Tamba 13, and Michael Nwoko 10 for LSU (14-11, 2-10).

A 12-3 run gave Tennessee a 21-10 lead midway through the first half and the Vols' largest lead was 31-19 after two Ethan Burge 3s. A three-point play by Nwoko and a 3 by from Tamba helped LSU get within 35-29 at the half.

The Tigers made three 3s in the first four minutes of the second half and took their first lead of the game when Sutton hit two free throws and followed up a minute later with a dunk for a 44-41 advantage.

Tennessee has won five straight in the series.

LSU coach Matt McMahon announced on Saturday that point guard DJ Thomas Jr. will have surgery on his left-foot and will miss the rest of the season.

Up next

LSU: at Texas on Tuesday.

Tennessee: Oklahoma visits on Wednesday.

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Team Knicks took home the Shooting Stars victory on a thrilling last-second shot by Jalen Brunson to beat Team Cameron on Saturday night at NBA All-Star Weekend.

The trio of Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and NBA legend Allan Houston put up 47 points after Brunson and Houston drained two half-court shots in the final seconds, beating Team Cameron's 38 points in the competition's first showing at the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.

The contest consisted of shots from various spots on the court, including a layup, from the elbow and a few three-point shots.

KNICKS ARE SHOOTING STARS CHAMPS ⭐️⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/dESqyElGH1

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 14, 2026

Game Summary:

I would guess Miami got pretty much what they wanted in the first half, other than making free throws. McNeil was 0-1, Williams had 5 points, and Copeland was driving to the basket a lot and only had 2 assists. Rebounding was a nightmare to watch, Miami had 11 offensive rebounds and led total rebounds 20-13.

The second half was very similar, however Paul McNeil got hot and while the Wolfpack wasn’t doing a lot well, they were scoring and slowing the Hurricanes enough to maintain a lead. Then the Wolfpack just gave the game away.

With 1:07 left, Lubin grabbed a rare offensive rebound and put it back in for a 76-69 Pack lead. NC State would not score again. Lubin turned it over, then Holloman turned it over, Copeland fouled with 27 seconds, but they missed, then Copeland got fouled with 17 seconds left and missed the front end of the 1 & 1, and with NC State holding a 2-point lead, at the 3 second mark Williams fouled the 3PT shooter. Washington made all three free throws for the final score, 77-76.

Teams	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTR
Wolfpack	57.3%	15.9%	28.6%	27.3%
Miami	50.0%	14.1%	48.8%	29.9%

Overall Takeaways:

• The Pack had this game won, and gave it away in the final minute
• Miami had 20 offensive rebounds resulting in 12 more FG attempts

Coach Wade Post Game Comments

Individual Highlights

• Matt Able had one of his better games and tied for the scoring lead with Lubin with 17
• Ven Lubin led rebounding with 9
• Quadir Copeland had 5 assists
• Ven Lubin had 4 blocks
• Tre Holloman had 4 steals

Player Stats and Box Score

Player	PTS	REB	ASST	TO	BLK	STL	MIN
Ven-Allen Lubin	17	9	0	1	4	0	32
Matthew Able	17	1	0	0	1	0	22
Paul McNeil	14	4	0	1	2	0	31
Darrion Williams	11	3	3	3	1	1	33
Quadir Copeland	11	3	5	2	0	1	26
Terrance Arceneaux	4	3	0	1	0	0	14
Tre Holloman	2	1	4	1	0	4	33
Musa Sagnia	0	3	0	1	0	0	9
Scottie Ebube	2	0	0	0	0	0	3
Paul McNeil	0	0	1	2	0	0	26

Box Score

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Australia has won the New Zealand leg of the SailGP series, though racing was overshadowed by a crash involving New Zealand and France on Saturday which left a sailor from each team with serious injuries.

Driver Tom Slingsby steered the Australian Flying Roos to victory in the three-boat final Sunday ahead of Spain and Britain. Britain won the first event of the series in Perth, Australia and now shares the overall series lead with the Australians.

Organizers decided to break the fleet into two groups for racing on the second day Sunday because of expected high winds. For the first time in SailGP history 13 boats took part in racing Saturday and congestion on a narrow course might have been a factor in the crash which saw the New Zealand and French boats extensively damaged.

Louis Sinclair, a “grinder” who works the winches on the New Zealand boat, suffered compound fractures to both legs when the New Zealand Black Foils and France collided at almost 90 kmh (56 mph).

‘Successful surgery’

In a statement Sunday, the New Zealand team said "Sinclair has had successful surgery on his right leg overnight after injuries suffered during yesterday’s collision with France.

“The medical team involved in Sinclair’s treatment have been fantastic and are pleased with the results of the surgery and are positive about his ongoing recovery.”

Team New Zealand said “a comprehensive review of yesterday’s incident will be conducted in coordination with SailGP.”

France strategist Manon Audinet also was injured in the crash. The French team said Audinet suffered abdominal injuries.

“She was thrown forward on impact and actually broke the steering wheel of the French boat,” a team statement said. “The entire Team France has Manon Audinet and Louis Sinclair in their thoughts and stands fully alongside them during this time.”

Racing against the clock

New Zealand and France now face a tight schedule to repair their boats in time for the next leg of the series in Sydney in two weeks time. France suffered damage to one hull but the New Zealand boat seems to be far more extensively damaged.

Racing on Sunday took place in gusty conditions ahead of an impending thunderstorm and the highest speed recorded by any of the matching 50-foot catamarans was 101.99 kmh (63 mph).

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Team Knicks headed into the Kia Shooting Stars Challenge on Saturday as the favorite, and it didn’t disappoint.

Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston and their celebrity passer, Knicks assistant and Jalen’s dad Rick Brunson, took down three other teams at Intuit Dome to bring some new hardware home to New York during All-Star Weekend in Inglewood.

The first of their competition was Team All-Star, which was made up of Raptors guard Scottie Barnes, Thunder center Chet Holmgren, Pistons legend Rip Hamilton and celebrity passer Druski.

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The next was Team Cameron, which featured Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Hornets guard Kon Knueppel, former Clippers forward Corey Maggette and celebrity passer Anthony Anderson.

Team Harper was the final threat, and it had Spurs guard Dylan Harper, Celtics guard Ron Harper Jr. and NBA legend Ron Harper on the roster with 2 Chainz as the celebrity passer.

Before the event officially got going, the Brunsons hopped on the microphone, and Rick talked a little smack to his son, which caused Jalen to joke he was “not having a good time.”

Hamilton, who celebrated his 48th birthday Saturday, was also interviewed just prior to tip, and he, too, cracked a quip, kidding about why he was without his trademark mask for the festivities.

Each squad was given 70 seconds to score from seven spots placed around the basket and 3-point line. Made shots were worth 2, 3 or 4 points.

Team All-Star went first, and with Druski firing them passes, it disappointed with just 16 points.

Team Cameron was next up, and it scored 24 as Anderson tossed the players basketballs from afar. They left the court to “Corey” chants by the pro-Clippers fans in attendance.

Team Harper went third, and with 2 Chainz passing basketballs, it netted a total of 18.

Team Knicks rounded out the first round with a score of 31.

Team Knicks and Team Cameron advanced to the championship round, and it was the Brunsons, Towns and Houston who came out on top, 47-38. Clutch baskets from Jalen Brunson and Houston helped secure the victory.

Jalen was once again in a joking mode after getting the win, as he told the crowd whenever he’s around his dad, “it’s never fun.”

He then ribbed Rick, adding that his father was not much of a “celebrity passer.”

“But,” Jalen said, “he did his job.”

Jalen went on to say he hoped the championship would help the Knicks in the second half of their regular season.

Several celebrities were featured during breaks in the action, including Spike Lee and NSYNC’s Joey Fatone, who signed mini basketballs and gave them to fans in the stands.

Following the event, Ludacris wowed those in attendance with a concert.

Also on Saturday, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard won the 3-point contest, joining Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only other three-time winners of the event, and the Heat’s Keshad Johnson won the slam dunk contest.

Damian Lillard hasn't played in a single NBA game this season, but he returned to competition to participate in the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star Weekend at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Lillard found familiar success in his return and joined Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players in NBA history to win the 3-point shooting contest three times. He had won the contest in 2023 and 2024.

Lillard spent the prior two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard suffered a torn Achilles tendon last season in the playoffs while with the Bucks.

Damian Lillard wins the 3-point contest

Devin Booker falls short in 3-point contest

Lillard scored 29 points in the final round and set the score that Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns needed to beat. Booker had a hot start to his performance but finished with 27 points, falling short of Lillard's total.

FIRST ROUND: 27
FINAL ROUND: 29

DAMIAN LILLARD IS NOW A 3X @StateFarm NBA 3-POINT CONTEST WINNER 🚨🤯 pic.twitter.com/gMuq5cwdsp

— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026

Kon Knueppel competes in 3-point contest's final round

Booker finished the first round with the highest score, 30. Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel was the third member to advance to the final round after finishing the opening round tied with Lillard at 27.

Kon Knueppel opens the @StateFarm NBA 3-Point Contest with a score of 27 🎯

Tap to watch: https://t.co/BpnjnxQ8vCpic.twitter.com/hT6SZhItFy

— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026

Knueppel finished 4-of-5 on the first rack of the final round but struggled to keep the pace throughout the rest of the racks. He finished the final round with just 17 points.

NBA All-Star 3-point Contest complete highlights

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA 3-point contest highlights as Damian Lillard wins third title

Stop if you’ve heard this before, but the Lakers had someone in the dunk contest put up a dud.

Jaxson Hayes competed in Saturday’s Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend and in a move that probably shouldn’t have been shocking given the history of Lakers competing in the event, it was a very underwhelming showing.

Hayes’ first dunk of the day was…interesting. After starting way in the backcourt, he miscalculated something along the way and just…did a basic dunk?

Jaxson Hayes with the dunk.

pic.twitter.com/GAPAfLQMOf

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 15, 2026

His timing clearly was off and based on the run up, it’s probably safe to assume he was going for a free throw line dunk, which he missed by some distance. Unsurprisingly, he got the lowest score in the first round at 44.6 — the average of the five scores from the judges — which meant he was the first dunker of round two.

This dunk was better, as he went between the legs after tapping the ball to himself.

Jaxson Hayes taps it to himself & goes between the legs for his second slam in @ATT Slam Dunk 😤

Tap to watch: https://t.co/BpnjnxQ8vCpic.twitter.com/pBALENoNJ0

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026

That one earned him a more respectable score of 47.2, but his complete dud in the first round kept him from moving on to the finals.

Maybe let’s stop putting Lakers in the dunk contest anymore.

Keshad Johnson of the Heat went on to win the event. Carter Bryant of the Spurs finished second while Jase Richardson of the Magic missed out on the finals with Hayes.

Earlier in the afternoon, Damian Lillard came away victorious in the first event of the night in the 3-point contest despite not playing this season due to a torn Achilles. He beat out Kon Knueppel from the Hornets and Devin Booker from the Suns, the latter of whom choked down the stretch.

Damian Lillard's 2nd Round Score: 30 🎯

He has the score to beat in the Final Round of the @StateFarm NBA 3-Point Contest!

Tap to watch: https://t.co/BpnjnxQ8vCpic.twitter.com/aMkcI3Liec

— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026

THE DRAMA 🔥🔥🔥

Incredible finish to the @StateFarm NBA 3-Point Contest. https://t.co/CTlMr1p7Xxpic.twitter.com/mQWn6oOr5n

— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 14, 2026

The Shooting Stars event, Team Knicks of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Allan Houston came away victorious in a pretty exciting contest.

ICE IN HIS VEINS 🥶

Jalen Brunson's shot seals Team Knicks’ WIN in @Kia Shooting Stars! https://t.co/eSZ9cw2qhCpic.twitter.com/aeKOcnThjr

— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026

They beat out Team Cameron — comprised of Duke players — in the final. Despite having Knueppel and Jalen Johnson on the team, Corey Maggette carried them in the final and nearly won the whole dang thing.

"CARRY 'EM, COREY MAGGETTE!"

Special moment for the long-time L.A. Clippers forward at @Kia Shooting Stars in L.A. 💯 pic.twitter.com/a2eq4YpZGy

— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 26 points and Miami scored the last eight points of the game to beat North Carolina State 77-76 on Saturday night.

N.C. State scored seven straight points to take a 76-69 lead with 1:07 remaining. Then Reneau answered with a three-point play and Tru Washington added a layup to pull Miami to within 76-74 with 32 seconds left.

With 13 seconds to go, N.C. State's Quadir Copeland missed a free throw. The Wolfpack's Darrion Williams fouled Washington on a 3-point attempt on the following possession with three seconds remaining. Washington sank all three of his free-throw attempts before Matt Able missed a 3-pointer to end it.

Reneau shot 12 of 19 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds. Shelton Henderson added 17 points and nine boards for Miami (20-5, 9-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Tre Donaldson chipped in with 14 points and Washington finished with 13 for the Hurricanes, who have won three straight and five of their last six games.

Able and Ven-Allen Lubin scored 17 points apiece to lead N.C. State (18-8, 9-4). Copeland and Williams added 11 points each. The Wolfpack have lost back-to-back games since they had their six-game win streak snapped with a 118-77 loss to No. 24 Louisville.

Able made three 3-pointers and scored 15 points, and Copeland and Lubin added nine apiece to help N.C. State build a 43-37 halftime lead. Reneau scored 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting to pace Miami in the first half.

Up next

Miami: The Hurricanes host Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack play at home Tuesday against No. 11 North Carolina.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

INGLEWOOD, CA — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took a forceful stand against tanking in his NBA All-Star Weekend press conference, talking at length about the hot-button topic that's "been part of this league for a long time."

Earlier this week, the league fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and Indiana Pacers $100,000 for violations of its player participation policy and conduct detrimental to the league. They aren't the only teams openly tanking, though, ahead of a 2026 draft that's thought to be one of the strongest in recent years.

Silver's response at the Intuit Dome on Saturday was just as blatant.

"Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view," he said. "Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice."

In addition to more fines, Silver was asked if he would consider stripping draft picks from teams that continue to tank.

"There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior," he said.

More: 2026 NBA All-Star Game will show if the league still cares | Opinion

Silver also mentioned that the league has had economists look at the draft lottery system and point out how the incentives — the worst-performing teams receiving the best odds for a pick and the teams that just miss out on the playoffs being stuck in the middle of the road — are backwards.

"I think there was a more classical view of that in the old days, where it was just sort of an understanding among partners in terms of behavior," Silver said. "I think what we’re seeing is modern analytics where it’s so clear that the incentives are misaligned. ... The worst place to be, for example, is to be a middle-of-the-road team. Either be great or be bad, because then that will help you with the draft.

"In many cases, you have fans of those teams — remember, it’s not what they want to pay for to see poor performance on the floor, but they’re actually rooting for their teams in some cases to be bad to improve their draft chances."

Silver added that the league is focused on both the short-term response — fines and putting teams on notice about tanking — while also looking for a long-term solution to a problem that has been ever-evolving.

Former Commissioner David Stern introduced the draft lottery in 1985, which Silver said the league has made adjustments to "about five times." Some in the media have begun calling for the draft to be abolished entirely and, while that's an extreme end of the spectrum, Silver admitted Saturday that it might be time — past time, even — for the league to reassess.

"It’s a bit of a conundrum," Silver said. "The All-Star is 75 years old. The league is 80 years old. It’s time to take a fresh look at this to see to whether that’s an antiquated way of going about doing it. Ultimately, we need a system to fairly, I think, distribute players. I think it’s in the players’ interest as well as the teams that you have a level of parity around the league. There’s only so many jobs and so many cities.

"... What we’re doing, what we’re seeing right now, is not working; there’s no question about it. Yes, is there more I can do? Have I attempted not only to respond to behavior we’ve seen but send a clear message that we’re going to be scrutinizing everything we see going forward? Absolutely."

Adam Silver discusses prediction markets

With the news of Giannis Antetokounmpo's recent investment in Kalshi, Silver took a moment to discuss where the league stands as far as prediction markets go.

"We currently are looking at prediction markets essentially in the same way that we’re looking at sports betting markets or sports betting companies," Silver said. "We have a rule that was collectively bargained with the Players Association that players can make, I will call them, de minimis investments in sports betting companies, and we’re applying the same rule to prediction markets."

The rule is that players cannot hold more than a 1% interest in sports betting — and now, by extension, prediction market — companies. To Silver's knowledge, Antetokounmpo's stake in Kalshi is "much smaller" than that, so he is not in violation of any league rules.

But it's still an issue that Silver is keeping a close eye on.

"It’s rapidly evolving," he said. "Prediction markets have now come on the scene fairly recently as, I don’t know how else to say it, major sports betting marketplaces. Whether prediction markets are allowed to go forward in the form they’re in now will, I think, be ultimately an issue for the courts and for Congress.

"But even if they go away, the league is now dealing with essentially 40 different jurisdictions that have legalized sports betting in the United States. Still a huge illegal market. I’d say one other category that I hardly ever hear people talk about is that the last I looked, there are probably 80 countries in the world outside of the United States that also have legalized betting on the NBA."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Adam Silver press conference: NBA boss talks tanking at All Star

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Madison St. Rose led with 15 points and seven rebounds and No. 24 Princeton rode a big second half to defeat Cornell, 59-38 on Saturday.

The Tigers (20-3, 8-2 Ivy League) bounced back from a loss against Columbia on Friday to win their third game in their past four contests. It was the second-lowest scoring game of the season for Princeton after a 58-49 win over Brown on Jan. 24.

Skye Belker had 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists for the Tigers. Fadima Tall added 11 points and six rebounds.

Cornell closed the first half on a 7-0 run to lead 23-15 at halftime, but Princeton erupted for 23 points in the third quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a ten-point lead.

Princeton controlled the game in the second half, surrendering just 15 second-half points on the way to a comfortable victory.

Clarke Jackson and Paige Engels led the Big Red (8-15, 3-7) with eight points each. Cornell was held to 31% shooting and 24% from beyond the arc.

Up next

Both teams return to action next Saturday, when Princeton hosts Brown and Cornell visits Harvard.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball