Last night kicked off NBA All-Star Weekend with the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, marking the first time it has ever been played in an NBA arena. The evening began with a tribute to the late ESPN anchor Stuart Scott, who passed away last month at the age of 49. The NBA Celebrity All-Star Game was one of his favorite events to cover, so they honored him by presenting his two daughters with a basketball signed with personal messages from the players.
One of his daughters recalled NBA Celebrity All-Star games from her childhood, saying that her father missed her fifth birthday to cover the game and later made it up to her by taking her with him for her tenth birthday.
"I met Beyoncé. It was the best day of my life. It's all been down hill since then."
After a rendition of the nation anthem from Keke Palmer, the game took off with the West squad ultimately beating the East squad 57-51.
The evening's players included Ansel Elgort (Film Star); Anthony Anderson(ABC's Blackish); Common (Selma); Little League phenom Mo'ne Davis; Arcade Fire's Win Butler; actor Chadwick Boseman (42); America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon; former NBA All-Star and New York Knicks Assistant General Manager Allan Houston; Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin; gold medal-winning U.S. Paralympic athlete Blake Leeper; actor Michael Rapaport; Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera; NBA TV's NBA Inside Stuff presented by Samsung Galaxy co-host Kristen Ledlow; Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan; and WNBA stars Shoni Schimmel of the Atlanta Dream, Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock and Tina Charles of the New York Liberty.
One of the highlights of the evening included seeing comedian Kevin Hart going up against Mo'Ne Davis. Another was seeing him almost knock over Win Bulter for a rebound. Hart would later take home his fourth MVP award later that night, after which he announced his retirement.
"Look guys, this is my fourth MVP," he said. "It's an emotion moment, and I think I'm going to go out on top. I'm announcing my retirement from the celebrity basketball game. As a four-time MVP at this point, I can't do no more. It's Kobe, Lebron, and me -- literally it's all the greats. Thank you to all my fans. I don't want to cry because I said I wasn't going to do it!"
During halftime, Magic! took the stage to perform their hit single "Rude." Senior citizen dance squad The Timeless Torches also treated the audience to a performance that including twerking and splits.
Check out some of the highlights below, and our slideshow above from the event!
