Relationships Are What Really Matter
After hearing it all, everyone sighed with emotion. Thunder fans no longer felt much hostility toward Durant; they had never expected such a deep rift between Westbrook and Durant. Dinwiddie won the Skills Challenge, Booker won the Three-Point Contest, Bogdan was in poor form and got eliminated in the first round, while Mitchell replaced the injured Aaron Gordon in the Slam Dunk Contest and took the title—the blandest dunk contest champion in recent years. Curry then selected his former teammate Lowry. He had a unique talent: he could become friends with every player he had ever been teammates with. Nobody disliked him. This selection process was entirely about personal connections. Curry first picked his teammate Antetokounmpo, then Durant picked his teammate Irving. Curry next picked his friend Rose, Durant picked his third brother Harden, Curry then selected Embiid, who was also signed with Under Armour, and Durant picked James, who was also signed with Nike. This was the first time "friend teams" had replaced "regional teams" in the All-Star Game, so the rivalry was bound to be intense. According to Curry, he had considered that Durant might use the chance to pick Westbrook as a teammate and ease their relationship. If Curry had picked Westbrook first, he would have ruined their chance at reconciliation. This was the first year the All-Star draft had been implemented, and the entire process was kept secret from the public. Fans only knew the final results. Team Curry's starters were Antetokounmpo, Embiid, George, and Rose, while the reserves were Butler, Wiggins, Love, Lowry, Westbrook, Towns, and Oladipo. On February 14, the All-Star Game finally arrived, and the atmosphere at Staples Center was far more electric than it had been over the previous two days. Markkanen scored 15 points and Brogdon