Chicago celebrated the opportunity to host the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in three decades by relegating its beloved hometown franchise to a punchline. In an All-Star Weekend built up as a love letter to the city’s deep basketball culture, the Chicago Bulls were barely within eyesight. The team’s presence in the festivities was limited to Zach LaVine’s early exit in the three-point contest. They barely even got a mention out of Common in his terrific pregame intros.

LeBron James captained the winning team in the NBA All-Star Game for the third straight season as Team LeBron beat Team Giannis 157-155 on Sunday at United Center in Chicago.

James is unbeaten since the NBA adopted the All-Star draft format in 2018. This is also the second year the four-time league MVP bested Giannis Antetokounmpo.

CHICAGO — No one involved in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game could predict how the new scoring format would affect the game. Chris Paul, head of the Players Association, lobbied the commissioner Adam Silver to adopt the Elam Ending this year — a rule change in which the teams play to a final number rather than against a dwindling game clock.

The 2020 dunk contest may sadly become known for the absolute travesty that was the judging. Derrick Jones, Jr. technically won the event, even though Aaron Gordon produced five straight perfect scores and then somehow got a 47 despite dunking over a 7’5 guy on the first try. Gordon should have two titles by now. Instead, he was beat unfairly by Zach LaVine in 2016 and defeated even more unfairly by Jones this time.

It’s totally understandable that NBA fans and analysts get concerned about gaps in stardom eras and how that affects the league overall. The gap problem is absolutely real: once Michael Jordan retired for the second time, there was a huge gap in the NBA stardom. Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady weren’t yet superstars.

NBA All-Star Weekend is a love letter to the most beautiful superfluousness that we’ve come to associate with basketball, its most successful professional sports league, and all the gravitational characters who make it worth treasuring. It’s a time to celebrate physics-obliterating athleticism, unteachable skill, and every spectacle that dances on the periphery.

CHICAGO — No one involved in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game could predict how the new scoring format would affect the game. Chris Paul, head of the Players Association, lobbied the commissioner Adam Silver to adopt the Elam Ending this year — a rule change in which the teams play to a final number rather than against a dwindling game clock.

The 2020 NBA All-Star Game tipped off with a Kobe Bryant tribute, sung by Jennifer Hudson. Hudson, who has one of the best voices of our generation, pulled off the performance you would expect: flawless, emotional, and moving. She even broke briefly at the start, reminding us how real this situation is.