MVP

For the first time since 1988, Chicago welcomed the 2020 NBA All-Star for a celebratory weekend of games, festivities, and tributes.

All weekend, the event featured many musical performances including the All-Star game’s halftime show starring Chance The Rapper. In front of a sold-out United Center, the Chicago native performed a medley including “No Problem” alongside Lil Wayne, “Hot Shower,” “I’m The One” with DJ Khaled and Quavo, “Ultralight Beam”, and “I Was a Rock”, in honor of Kobe Bryant.

Prior to tip-off, Jennifer Hudson honored Kobe, his daughter Gianna, and the seven victims of last month’s tragic event with a performance of Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack’s “For All We Know” in front of a montage of Kobe and Gianna. Meanwhile, Chaka Khan took center court to perform the National Anthem.

Producer Dr. Dre lent his helping hand on production for a tribute visual of Kobe Bryant that featured highlights of the NBA legend’s epic career. Following Team LeBron’s 157-155 win over Team Giannis, Kawhi Leonard’s 30 points earned him the NBA’s newly named award, the Kobe Bryant MVP.

During the pre-game introductions, Common, who won MVP for the All-Star Celebrity game the previous night, recited a spoken word dedicated to his hometown of Chicago and Kobe Bryant, and segued into a freestyle while announcing each member of Team Giannis and Team LeBron.

The NBA held their State Farm All-Star Saturday Night the night before, which featured an evening full of competitive contests and performances. Introduced by Common, Portland Trail Blazer Damian Lillard brought his Dame D.O.L.L.A. persona with a medley of “Dre Grant”, “Money Ball” with Jeremih and “Run It Up” with Lil Wayne.

Before the festivities kicked off, Queen Latifah graced the stage with a choir for a touching performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”.

Huge wins throughout the night included, Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo winning the Skills Challenge, Sacremento Kings’ Buddy Hield taking the 3-Point Contest, and Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones, Jr. upsetting Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon for Slam Dunk contest. And you say Chi-City.