Damian Lillard has joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to win All-Star Most Valuable Player (MVP) and an All-Star Saturday night event in the same season, helping the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Lillard’s 39 points, which included 11 three-pointers, contributed to his side eclipsing the previous record total in an All-Star Game, set by the West with 196 in 2016.
“Any time you’re mentioned in the same category as Mike is an honour and a major accomplishment,” said Lillard, who won the trophy named after NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
“Even if it’s All-Star weekend, if it was that simple, more people would have done it since 1988. That’s a major accomplishment for me to be mentioned in the same conversation.”
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The combined points tally of 397 between the teams also broke the record of 374, which was set in 2017.
Minnesota Timberwolves centre or power forward Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 for the West, while Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown registered 36 for the East, with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton adding 32.
NBA All-Star result: Lillard ‘honoured’
Lillard was competing for a second successive year and an eighth overall, repeating his 2023 triumph in the Three-Point Contest.
“It’s an honour,” he said. “I’ve been here quite a few times so to be able to have this type of accomplishment is special.
“Once we came out in the third, we made a lot of shots and everyone was like ‘what’s the record?’ We found out and then we went after it.”
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The 33-year-old joined the Bucks in September after 11 years with the Portland Trail Blazers. “It’s been a tough year,” he acknowledged. “A transition to a new team, we’ve had three coaches since I’ve been there.
“I was coming to win. I wasn’t going to come to be casual and cool about it. I’m a vet in this game at this point, so why not try to get an MVP? It was something I put my mind on and I was able to do it.”
LeBron James, of the Los Angeles Lakes, was reduced to 14 minutes of action for the West with an ankle injury as the 39-year-old played in a record 20th All-Star Game.
