The All-Star Game had become quite interesting in recent times, with the new format making the end of games quite competitive in the last few editions. But the 2023 All-Star Game was different, with barely any defense played the whole time. It is traditional for the players not to go hard during the showpiece event, but it was still brutal for basketball fans to sit through.
The game was described after it was over by Jaylen Brown and Michael Malone as the worst game of basketball ever played. They weren’t happy with the lack of effort from some of the All-Stars, which Nikola Jokic, for example, accepted throughout.
But while the likes of Jokic and Luka Doncic weren’t particularly trying, other players were giving it their all. Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, and Damian Lillard all put on a show during the game, but the two best performers on the night were Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum.
Donovan Mitchell And Jayson Tatum Spoke About Both Trying To Win MVP At The All-Star Game
The All-Star Game MVP trophy is named after the legendary Kobe Bryant, so Jayson Tatum was always going to go for it. Donovan Mitchell also tried his hand, and the two combined for 95 points during the game. And speaking afterward, Mitchell admitted that he, too, was trying to get his hands on the hardware and that he and Tatum even spoke about it during the game.
Donovan Mitchell reacts to getting 1 All-Star MVP fan vote while Jayson Tatum got the other 11. 🗳
Mitchell: Tatum:
40 points 55 points
10 assists 6 assists
4 rebounds 10 rebounds pic.twitter.com/xwxJQWjUhC
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 20, 2023
“We were talking about it. Alright, let’s go get it. And at the end of the day, he caught fire. And it’s all love. Like I said in the post-game, like, Jayson and I have been playing on the same teams or different teams since high school whether it’s certain games. So it’s one of those things you really gotta appreciate… We’re both competitors too and we wanted to both go get it and he got it, and I’m happy as hell for him.”
Donovan Mitchell’s 40 points and 10 assists would have been enough in many other All-Star Games, but Jayson Tatum broke the all-time individual scoring number with 55 points. Both of them have a lot of respect for one another, and on a night when many stars simply mailed it in, it was fun to watch them try and compete.
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