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The Shooting Stars competetion is beginning. Each team features a current NBA player, a former NBA player and a WNBA player. Here are the teams:
Detroit: Aaron Afflalo, Bill Laimbeer and Katie Smith
Los Angeles: Derek Fisher, Michael Cooper and Lisa Leslie
Phoenix: Leandro Barbosa, Dan Majerle and Tangela Smith
San Antonio: Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Becky Hammon
Raw, unedited notes taken as the Shooting Stars contest happened:
Detroit is up first. They did ok, missing a few shots but no real struggle. Until they got to the halfcourt shot, which they took a long time to hit until Laimbeer was able to hit it. They finished in 59.3 seconds.
Los Angeles was up second. They were stalled by Lisa Leslie missing a few shots from the right side, then Fisher tossing some bricks from the left. But Los Angeles took forever to hit from halfcourt, missing 16 shots until Cooper was able to connect at 1:16.
Phoenix went third. They were slowed by Barbosa missing a bunch of times from the left side. At halfcourt they flew through it faster than anyone thanks to Dan Majerle, who drilled the shot at 53.3 seconds, putting Phoenix in first place, bumping Detroit down to second.
And now, San Antonio, who would appear to be at a disadvantage with two center-sized players who aren't known for outside shooting. Yet they flew through the first series of shots, but struggled mightily from halfcourt, not finishing until little Becky Hammon connected at 1:06.
So, Phoenix and Detroit are in the 2009 NBA Shooting Stars competition finals.
Detroit went first in the Shooting Stars finals. And they all missed a bunch of shots, especially Afflalo. They didn't get to halfcourt until around 38 seconds (give or take), and Katie Smith hit at 58.4 seconds, a pretty good mark.
And now, Phoenix, who got off to a blazing start, hitting all of their shots to quickly reach the halfcourt shot, but simply unable to hit the halfcourt shot, taking forever, until Majerly hit at 1:15.
Team Detroit are the 2009 NBA Shooting Stars competition champions, with Phoenix the runner-up.
NBA Shooting Stars competition Preview
Team San Antonio will defend its NBA Shooting Stars competition title against Team Detroit, Team Los Angeles and Team Phoenix in this year’s All-Star event, which will be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 14, at US Airways Center in Phoenix beginning at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio.
The San Antonio team, which captured the title last year in New Orleans with a time of 35.8 seconds, consists of All-Star and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, David Robinson, one of the 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, and four-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon. Team San Antonio also captured the Shooting Stars title in 2006 with a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds. The 2006 San Antonio trio was comprised of All-Star Tony Parker, NBA legend Steve Kerr and the Silver Stars' Kendra Wecker.
Team Detroit, last year’s runner-up and the 2007 winner, is comprised of Pistons 2007 first round draft selection Aaron Afflalo, Detroit Shock head coach and general manager Bill Laimbeer, who has guided the Shock to three WNBA titles, and 2008 WNBA Finals MVP Katie Smith.
Team Los Angeles, which won the inaugural competition in 2004, is made up of three-time NBA champion Derek Fisher, Michael Cooper -- the only person to have won titles in the NBA, NBA D-League and WNBA -- and three-time WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie.
Team Phoenix, the 2005 Haier Shooting Stars champion, features Leandro Barbosa, the 2006-07 Sixth Man Award winner, NBA legend Dan Majerle and Tangela Smith, who helped guide the Mercury to the 2007 WNBA title.
The NBA Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.
PAST NBA SHOOTING STARS COMPETITION WINNERS HISTORY
2004 (Los Angeles) Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers legend), Derek Fisher (L.A. Lakers), Lisa Leslie (L.A. Sparks)
2005 (Denver) Dan Majerle (Phoenix Suns legend), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
2006 (Houston) Steve Kerr (San Antonio Spurs legend), Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Kendra Wecker (San Antonio Silver Stars)
Team San Antonio, with Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Becky Hammon, won the 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend Shooting Stars competition Saturday night. After the team got through the regular shots, Tim Duncan quickly hit the half-court shot.
The other team in the Shooting Stars second and final round was Team Chicago, with Chris Duhon, Candice Dupree and B.J. Armstrong. They did well with the regular shots and easily could have won, but took forever to hit the half-court shot, losing it for that reason.
Team Los Angeles wasn’t too hot. And Team Phoenix had potential, but Eddie Johnson was awful.
PREVIEW: 2008 NBA SHOOTING STARS COMPETITION
Feb. 15, 2008
Team Detroit will defend its Haier Shooting Stars title against Team Chicago, Team Phoenix and Team San Antonio in this year’s competition, which will be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena.
The Detroit team, which captured the title last year in Las Vegas with a time of 50.5 seconds, consists of All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Shock forward and two-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash, and Shock head coach and four-time NBA All-Star Bill Laimbeer. Cash and Laimbeer were key figures in the Shock capturing the 2003 and 2006 WNBA championships.
Team Chicago, last year’s runner-up, is comprised of Bulls guard and Slidell, La. native Chris Duhon, two-time WNBA All-Star and Sky forward Candice Dupree and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong. Representing Phoenix, the 2005 winner, are All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, two-time WNBA All-Star and 2007 WNBA Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter and Suns great Eddie Johnson. Team San Antonio, which dominated the competition in the 2006 Shooting Stars challenge with a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds, consists of 10-time All-Star and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, four-time WNBA All-Star and Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon and David Robinson, a two-time NBA champion and One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Team Los Angeles won the inaugural competition in 2004.
As with all of this year's All-Star participants, members of the Shooting Stars teams will join over 2,500 members of the NBA Family for the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service on Friday, Feb. 15. The volunteers will participate in a variety of service projects at 10 different sites throughout New Orleans.
The Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.
PREVIEW SHOOTING STARS WINNERS
2004: Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers legend), Derek Fisher (L.A. Lakers), Lisa Leslie (L.A. Sparks)
2005: Dan Majerle (Phoenix Suns legend), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
2006: Steve Kerr (San Antonio Spurs legend), Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Kendra Wecker (San Antonio Silver Stars)
FOUR TEAMS (NBA Player/WNBA Player/NBA Legend), two-round, timed shooting event.
GAME FORMAT:
Shooting from 6 locations of increasing difficulty, teams attempt to make all 6 shots in numeric order in the fastest time.
The two teams that hit all six shots in the fastest times will move on to the Final round.
Teams will shoot in inverse order of their First round time for the Final round.
Six numbered shooting spots will be placed on the floor to designate each shot location.
Each team must choose a specific order of shooting (Player A,B,C) and follow that order thru the event (see below).
Each shot must be made (unlimited attempts) before the next player begins shooting in succession.
For Shot #6 (near half court), Player C must make the initial attempt - then all three players will rotate (in A,B,C order) until the shot is made, which will stop the clock and give the team their official time.
A referee will be on-court to pass judgment on any violation of the rules.
INSTANT REPLAY – At discretion of the referee, instant replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.
TIME LIMIT:
Each team will be given up to 2:00 minutes to complete the shooting course.
The clock will be started by the referee and will start at 0:00 and count up.
The clock will be stopped by the referee’s whistle when the team makes shot #6.
If a team has not completed all six shots as of the 2:00 mark, the horn will sound and their score will be based upon the total number of shots completed as of 2:00.
TIEBREAKERS:
In the case of a tie (two or more teams complete all shots in the same amount of time, or teams only complete the same amount of shots after 2:00), a shoot-off will be used to break the tie.
The clock will be reset (a time limit of 1:00 will be imposed) and the team that makes one shot from the “#6” in the shortest amount of time will, depending on the round, either advance to the Finals or be declared champions.
Once again each team’s three players must rotate their attempts (in any 3-player order their team decides).
If no team makes shot #6 in the designated 1:00 tiebreaker, it will be repeated shooting from shot #5.
Shot Order, Locations and Player Rotation:
Shot #1 – 10 foot BANK shot from right side angle – PLAYER A
Shot #2 – 15 foot shot from left side angle – PLAYER B
Shot #3 – NBA 3-Pt. shot from top of the arc/straight on – PLAYER C
Shot #4 – 18-Foot shot from right side baseline – PLAYER A
Shot #5 – NBA 3-Pt. shot from left side angle – PLAYER B
Shot #6 – Shot from just inside half-court/straight on – PLAYER C, PLAYER A, PLAYER B, repeat….
2007 NBA SHOOTING STARS COMPETITION
Team San Antonio will face Team Chicago, Team Detroit and Team Los Angeles in its quest for back-to-back titles in the NBA Shooting Stars competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 17 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The San Antonio team, which captured the title last year in Houston with a record time of 25.1 seconds, consists of All-Star Tony Parker, Silver Stars forward Kendra Wecker and Hall of Famer George Gervin.
Team Chicago is comprised of Bulls guard Ben Gordon, Sky forward Candice Dupree and seven-time All-Star Scottie Pippen.
Representing Detroit are All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Shock forward Swin Cash and Shock head coach and four-time NBA All-Star Bill Laimbeer, both key figures in the Shock capturing the 2003 and 2006 WNBA championships.
Team Los Angeles, the runner-up in last year’s contest, consists of Lakers forward Lamar Odom, Sparks guard and 2005 WNBA Rookie of the Year Temeka Johnson and Michael Cooper, a member of five Lakers’ Championship teams.
NBA Shooting Stars Contest Rules
The NBA Shooting Stars competition features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.
The 2007 NBA Shooting Stars event will be televised live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night. TNT and ESPN Radio’s national coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST from Thomas & Mack Center. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 18, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Listed below are the previous winning teams from the Haier Shooting Stars competition:
2004: Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers legend), Derek Fischer (L.A. Lakers), Lisa Leslie (L.A. Sparks)
2005: Dan Majerle (Phoenix Suns legend), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix
Mercury)
2006: Steve Kerr (San Antonio Spurs legend), Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Kendra Wecker (San
Antonio Silver Stars)
The NBA Shooting Stars event at NBA All-Star Weekend pairs a current NBA shooting star with a retired, former NBA player and a current WNBA star. The event is part of All-Star Saturday.
In the 2006 NBA Shooting Stars competition, the Phoenix Suns return to defend their title. Mercury guard Kelly Miller replaces teammate Diana Taurasi and joins Shawn Marion and Dan Majerle as they face teams from Houston, L.A. and San Antonio. The teams compete in the contest featuring six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty.
The 2005 NBA Shooting Stars event was won by Team Phoenix: WNBA Rookie of the Year Diana Taurasi of the Mercury, current Suns forward Shawn Marion and Phoenix legend Dan Majerle.
SHOOTING STARS RECAP | LIVE, UNEDITED NOTES
Teams have to make shots from six places on the court, with the final shot being from halfcourt. San Antonio went first. And they were amazing, finishing in just 25.1 seconds. Tony Parker made the half-courter.. Los Angeles up next. Lisa Leslie started badly, missing about five mid-range bank shots before finally making one. Magic johnson wasn't too great. Kobe Bryant did well, and nailed the half court shot. As a team, Los Angeles finished in 43.something seconds... Houston is up now. All three members did OK but not great. McGrady hit the halfcourt shot, using a wild one-handed technique. Houston finished in 47.2 seconds... Phoenix, who win it last year, is up last. Kelly Miller missed a few shots that slowed them down. It took them a long time to hit the halfcourt shot -- WNBA player Miller made it... San Antonio wins it! They shot an amazing 6-of-8. No one else was even close.
INTERVIEW WITH SHOOTING STARS WINNING TEAM
TONY PARKER, SAN ANTONIO - STEVE KERR, SAN ANTONIO - KENDRA WECKER, SAN ANTONIO
Q. First off, Steve, the obvious, what was that experience like for you, getting back on the international stage like that?
STEVE KERR: It's nerve-wracking. Even though it's just kind of a for-fun event, just something to enjoy.
We were talking about it beforehand. Kendra and I were both a little nervous, but that's the way it's supposed to be. The lights go on and you're involved in the competition and you feel the butterflies, that means you're ready. We had a lot of fun out there.
Q. Since there was no Pop out there, who did the pep talk?
TONY PARKER: Steve. Steve gave us the pep talk.
STEVE KERR: Pop gives us the same one every game anyways. Just replay, push play on the tape recorder. That fired us up.
Q. Did you know that three was going in when it left your hand?
TONY PARKER: The three or the halfcourt?
Q. The halfcourt.
TONY PARKER: Yeah, it felt good. Banged it, so it was good.
STEVE KERR: We couldn't make it in the practice. We ran through a practice, it took us over a minute, right, like over a minute. We missed probably 20 straight half-courters. I'm thinking, this is trouble. We're not going to do very well, and he makes the first one.
Q. Of course she got you guys off to the good start.
TONY PARKER: Very good start.
STEVE KERR: Two out of two, Kendra was great, she got us rolling.
Q. Were you worried about him when he missed his first?
KENDRA WECKER: No, I wasn't worried. I knew it would take him two at the most. He didn't back off from the shot like everyone did. If he missed the first one, I knew he would get the second one in.
Q. Does Chip get any credit for that halfcourt shot?
TONY PARKER: A little bit. Every shot I make he gets credit.
Q. So he actually works on that shot with you guys?
TONY PARKER: I was missing everything in practice, and this morning in practice with the West team, it was my first made today.
Q. Steve, do you now feel like a legend?
STEVE KERR: Isn't that great? You play 15 years, average 16 points a game and they call you a legend when you show up at All-Star Weekend. I won't correct it if they run it, I'll just go with it.
Q. That record is going to be pretty tough to beat, the 25?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I think we missed two shots; I missed one and Tony missed one. So it's going to be tough to get much better.
TONY PARKER: That's the competition, the record.
Q. Just another big weekend for you, it just keeps getting better and better.
The Shooting Stars competetion is beginning. Each team features a current NBA player, a former NBA player and a WNBA player. Here are the teams:
SHOOTING STARS PREVIEW