Hyped for Damian Lillard in Blazers gear? Check. Four Dunk Contest newbies chasing a crown? Yup. Shooting Stars back after 11 years? Finally. After 90% of the seats were empty for Friday night’s events, the NBA bounced back, at least to a certain extent, on Saturday.

The league says 15,067 people were in attendance at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, but the arena felt half full, matching the vibe.

First up was the 3-Point Contest, and it’s safe to say that it stole the show. The other two events failed to match the standards, with the Dunk Contest specifically facing backlash.

Emphatic return and a nail-biting 3-Point contest

8 NBA stars vied for the title, but the eyes were set only on Damian Lillard. Dame Time has been out all season with an Achilles issue, but his return for the contest got fans enthusiastic. Seeing him back on court, that too in a Portland uniform, only added to the excitement. Lillard would eventually win his third 3-Point Contest, narrowly beating Devin Booker in the final.

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First Round

It was Kon Knueppel who started the proceedings as he became just the fifth rookie to take part in the 3-point contest. The Hornets star dropped 27 points in the opening round, making it difficult for others to pass him. 5 other stars came next, but nobody could beat the score. Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell drained each shot from the first rack and finished with a score of 24.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray came next and remained hot and cold from his shooting, finishing with just 18 points, which wasn’t the lowest score on the night. A familiar face returned as Norman Powell, the former Clippers star, managed 23 points, effectively ending Murray’s run for Saturday. 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey had several of his attempts rattle out and just miss. His score of 17 wasn’t enough for the next round.

Bucks forward Bobby Portis was also eliminated with the lowest score of the night, 15. Then Devin Booker stepped up and put on a clinic. He hit 4-of-5 attempts from the money ball rack, which constitutes 2 points each. Book scored 30, eliminating Heat guard Norman Powell. The last attempt came from Lillard as he nailed 9 of his final 10 in round 1, finishing with 27 points.

Final Round

Booker (30), Lillard (27), and Knueppel (27) were the three finalists. The rookie started again and was hot as he drained 4-of-5 shots in his first rack. But then Knueppel struggled and ended with just 17 points, as he hit just four tries over his next two racks. Lillard went second this time and hit 4-of-5 shots on his first two racks to set the tone. After scoring 27 points in the first round, he put up 29 in the final round.

At one point, it felt like Booker would score 30 as the Suns’ guard drained the first nine attempts of his final round. But as he went into his money rack with a chance to win the title, Book missed his final three attempts to finish on 27. Thus, Dame Time was wearing the 3-Point Contest crown once again.

Damian Lillard also joined Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only NBA players to win this contest three times. “That’s all I do it for, keep adding to my legacy,” Lillard said after winning the competition. And the Portland star is ready to compete again next year. “I’m going to do it again.”

Clutch Jalen Brunson wins with his father in the Shooting Stars

After an 11-year absence, the Shooting Stars competition was back, replacing the infamous Skills Competition from last year. 4 teams with 3 players, 2 families, and 1 celebrity passer formed the team. First Team All-Star Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors), Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder), and Richard Hamilton, alongside influencer Druski. But they could only score 16 points as their celebrity passer was all over the place.

Next, it was Team Harper with celebrity 2 Chainz, NBA legend Ron Harper Sr., alongside his two sons, Dylan Harper and Ron Harper Jr., and they finished with 18. Knuppel again suited up alongside two other Duke alums, Jalen Johnson and legend Corey Maggette. Anthony Anderson completed the team and scored the highest by that point, 24. The final team was Team Knicks, where Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Allan Houston partnered with former point guard Rick Brunson.

With Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson firing pinpoint passes to his son Jalen Brunson, plus Karl-Anthony Towns and Allen Houston, Team Knicks had the best first-round score in Shooting Stars with 31.

After winning the NBA CUP, the Knicks also got their hands on the Shooting Stars. They combined to a final score of 47 points to beat Team Cameron in the final. The Duke Alums put up a formidable 39 points.

Slam Dunk Contest

The main event of the night featured four players making their event debuts. The field includes Carter Bryant, San Antonio Spurs, Jaxson Hayes, Los Angeles Lakers, Keshad Johnson, Miami Heat, and Jase Richardson, Orlando Magic. Interestingly, Jase’s participation is in the same contest that his father won twice. The judges for the Slam Dunk Contest were Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette, Brent Barry (the first Clipper to ever win the Slam Dunk Contest, in 1996), and Julius Erving.

First round

For the catalogue, Carter started doing a 360 windmill, slamming it on his first attempt with 45.6 from the judges. Bryant tossed a lob to himself and then flushed it down with a powerful windmill score of 49.2 to give him a first-round score of 94.8, securing his spot in the final. Then the son of two-time Slam Dunk Contest winner Jason Richardson, Jase, lobbed a pass to himself for a reverse slam with a score of 45.4.

Unfortunately, Richardson second round attempt used the help of a friend to try to lob the pass off the backboard, but a scary fall made him rethink the dunk. He did complete it and pivoted to a two-handed 360 slam. The judges gave him a score of 43.4, for a total first-round score of 88.8. Keshad Johnson used rapper E-40 as a prop for his first attempt through the legs dunk, a reverse jam. The judges gave him a score of 47.4.

He also failed to connect his initial in-between-the-legs dunk off a lob. But Johnson pivoted and did a two-hand, rock-the-cradle dunk from the baseline. The judges gave him a score of 45.4, giving him a first-round score of 92.8. Jaxson Hayes, for his first attempt, wanted to do a jump from the free throw line, but was well inside of that when he took off. It ended with a simple dunk for 44.6.

Wanted to improve, Hayes stood at the left wing and lobbed a pass, and then tapped it with his right hand to himself before looping it between his legs for the dunk. The judges gave him a score of 47.2 points on the dunk, for a total first-round score of 91.8. However, it was enough to advance to the Final.

Final Round

Johnson continued to dance through his turn. The first attempt was a lobbed dunk underneath the basket for a near-perfect score of 49.6. Bryant was perfect as he caught a lob he threw to himself and slammed it home after putting the ball between his legs. Judges gave a perfect 50! For his final attempt, Johnson couldn’t get the launch from the free-throw line, but he did thunder it home with a swooping windmill for a score of 47.8, and a final round total of 97.4.

The ball was in Carter’s court. Bryant tried a between-the-legs lob off the backboard that he then wanted to slam with a reverse multiple times. But with the final seconds left, he only had time for a two-handed 360 dunk. The judges gave him a score of 43.0 for a final round score of 93.0. So, Keshad Johnson was crowned the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest champion.

After Johnson’s win, only one All-Star has won in the last decade. Even the dunks weren’t entirely new. Fans had witnessed it in some form or another and fell short of the expectations that previous winner Mac McClung had set. The crowd was also passive throughout the night. And a good, but not great, Dunk Contest did not help.

Now, for Sunday, the league’s best players will come together for the NBA All-Star Game. The league will hope that fans turn out in huge numbers and actually cheer for the entire night.