Charlotte Hornets All-Star: Walker and Bridges fall flat on Saturday night

Both Kemba Walker and Miles Bridges represented the Charlotte Hornets during All-Star Saturday night, but came up short in their respective contests.

It’s been a fun time in Charlotte so far, as the Charlotte Hornets are hosting this years NBA All-Star festivities, beginning with Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge. Kemba Walker and Miles Bridges both represented the Hornets on Saturday night, but did not walk away with any hardware.

Regardless of the outcome, it’s still an incredible honor to host this event. The arena was packed, the crowd was loud and the players had fun, that’s all that matters.

Kemba Walker competed in the Three-Point Contest, while Miles Brides competed in the Slam Dunk Contest. Walker clearly had a tough field of competitors ahead of him, but Bridges was considered a favorite by many fans around the league.

We’ll get things started with Walker, who had previously participated in the Three-Point Contest in 2017.

Kemba Walker

This years Three-Point Contest was arguably the most exciting event of the night. Things began with Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris racking up a score of 25 right off the bat. He set the bar really high and I think that affected some of the players after him.

Walker stepped onto the court and got off to a bit of a slow start, sinking just three of his first eleven shot attempts. He got into a groove during the third rack and his final rack, which was his money-ball rack.

In the end, he finished with a score of 15. Afterwards, he credited Harris for getting off to such a great start, and even said he was nervous on the court.

Walker may not have won this contest, but it still must be a tremendous honor for him to compete with the league’s best shooters in front of his home-town crowd. One hopes that he knows how much the city of Charlotte loves him, both on and off the court.

Joe Harris started the contest hot, but ended it even hotter, securing the win with a score of 26 in the final round against Stephen Curry, possibly the best shooter in the history of basketball. Harris was a perfect 5-5 on his money ball rack.

Miles Bridges

Over the years, the Slam Dunk Contest has been a bit of a let down, aside from Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon‘s epic battle in 2016.

I was hoping for something better this year, but none of the dunks really made me jump off of my couch in excitement.

Bridges took the court in his LeBron 16’s as the last dunker in the first round. Unfortunately, he did not get off to a very good start, as he failed to even convert on multiple attempts. He was going for a between-the-legs slam off of the backboard, which would have been very good if he had finished it.

The rookie did bounce back in the second round, though. Bridges got some help from Kemba Walker and slammed home a vicious dunk while sporting a Larry Johnson jersey. He earned a score of 50, but the damage was done after his botched first round.

If that attempt in the first round went in, this could be a different story. Dennis Smith Jr and Hamidou Diallo went on to face off in the final round, where Diallo came out on top.

Tonight, Kemba Walker will be starting for Team Giannis in the All-Star game. We’ll see what he can do in this game, but the real games will continue on the 22nd of this month. The All-Star break is great, but this team is laser focused on making a playoff run.

Even though they didn’t win, Charlotte Hornets fans are proud of what both Kemba Walker and Miles Bridges have accomplished this season.