Six Former Huskies Shine in NBA All-Star Weekend, Thompson Scores another Olympic Goal
NBA All-Star Weekend Review
UConn fans had the chance to look back and take pride as former Huskies reunited as teammates and faced off against one another throughout NBA All-Star Weekend.
Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle suited up for Team Melo in the Rising Stars event. In the opening game, Team Melo went up against Team Austin, led by Tristen Newton. The trio of 2024 National Champion teammates dominated a few sequences:
Watching Clingan set that screen on Newton to free up Castle for the lob to DC is just, chef’s kiss! How many times did Husky fans see Newton throw that lob to DC over their two years together?
Clingan finished with nine points, scoring his team’s first seven, while Castle chipped in six points and five assists. Newton contributed two points and four assists for Team Austin, but Team Melo pulled away for a 40–34 win to advance to the championship round.
In the second game of the event, 2024 National Champion Cam Spencer and Team T-Mac took the floor against Team Vince. Spencer scored five points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists in nine minutes. However, Team Vince took down Team T-Mac 41-36 to advance to the finals against Clingan and Castle.
The intensity was great for all three of these games, but it picked up a notch in the championship game. Clingan made two straight three-pointers to begin the game. Meanwhile Castle, who was last year’s Rising Stars MVP, scored a few baskets of his own but missed the potential game-winning shot. The miss allowed Team Vince to come out on top 25-24.
James Bouknight
In the first G League three-point contest since 2017, James Bouknight put the NBA world on notice. The former Husky totaled 26 points in the opening round, going a perfect 5-of-5 on the final rack. He followed that with 34 points in the championship round to defeat Ethan Thompson and claim the title.
Bouknight was also invited to participate in the NBA G League Next Up Game, the G League’s equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game. Once again, he came away with a title, scoring eight points in Game 1 and seven points in the championship game for Team Black. Former UConn commit James Akinjo was named the event’s MVP.
Richard Hamilton
The Shooting Stars Event made its return for the first time since 2015, and Richard Hamilton was the "Legend" representative for Team All-Star. The 1999 National Champion was teammates with Toronto Raptors' Scottie Barnes and Oklahoma City Thunder Chet Holmgren. Team All-Star fell to Team Camerson 24-18, but Rip did knock down a buzzer beating 4-point shot!
Tage Thompson
After scoring a goal in Team USA's opening game against Team Latvia this past Thursday, Thompson scored his second goal of the Winter Games in Team USA's 5-1 win over Team Germany on Sunday. The goal came on a one-timer in the early part of the third period.
The Americans went a perfect 3-0 in the preliminary round to earn the number two seed and will face the winner of either seventh seeded Team Sweden or 10th seeded Team Latvia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 3:10pm ET. It is win or go home from here on out for Team USA.
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