harrison barnes all star weekend experience (Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com Instagram account)
NBA ALL-STAR JAM SESSION, NEW ORLEANS, LA — Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes took to the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities in New Orleans early today, attending the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge practice at Jam Session, located inside the New Orleans Convention Center.
LetsGoWarriors.com was there to soak it all in.
The practice was obviously a light one, as well as instructional and, of course, fun, for the few fans in attendance at 9:30AM in the morning.
Nate McMillan, coach of #TeamHill, one of two Rising Stars Challenge teams of rookies and sophomores selected by TNT studio analyst Grant Hill, went through some plays and even had one where Barnes was the first option.
Barnes was announced earlier that morning that he had been voted in as a starter by the fans.
Among the fun activities was a team-based three-point shooting contest, in which Barnes’s team was split into two teams of five. It would be a time-based competition in which one player would be at each of the five 3-Point Shootout stations and continue shooting until a three-pointer was made. The next player at the next station would then shoot. The team would be judged on how long it took them to complete the five-player around-the-world sequence.
Barnes was at the fourth station, the left wing elbow. Bradley Beal had trouble sinking his, missing on six or seven, but when it came time for Barnes, he nailed it on the first try.
Next up was a halfcourt shooting competition where each team would be measured by how many halfcourt shots they hit.
Naturally, Barnes hit one!
The activities were filmed by NBA TV, in case you are interested in the post-event interview by Dennis Scott.
Finally, a member of the attending guest military had all the players go through some bootcamp drills, such as push-ups and the like.
Afterwards, we caught up with Barnes, as well as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area. Poole’s segment is likely to air on TV and later be posted on their website.
Here’s a portion of Simmons’s report:
With a Pitbull song blaring on a loop in the background and a director for an ABC/ESPN playoff commercial barking out orders, Barnes executed a series of dance moves, gyrations and ball tricks as if he were alone in his living room.
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“I do feel confident,” said the second-year forward, who will play in Friday’s rising stars challenge and participate in Saturday’s dunk contest. “This weekend, I just want to have fun. Last year, it was such a new experience and there was so much going on that I just couldn’t fully take in what everything was about.”
For the dunk contest, Barnes said he would stick with his regular Adidas shoe (as opposed to, say, the Crazy1’s). He chuckled at Iguodala’s “Dominique-esque” comparison and Barnes said he might bring out “a jersey or two” to pay homage during the contest.
As Simmons writes:
He said he’ll definitely try to pay homage to some folks – most likely either former Warrior Jason Richardson (who won in 2002-03) or Michael Jordan, whose surname is Barnes’ middle name.
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But Barnes says Terrence Ross and Paul George are the favorites.
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“I always watched dunk contests, and personally, it was my favorite part of All-Star weekend,” Barnes said. “Just to be a part of it is a dream come true. … I’m nowhere near the favorite. I’m probably the least athletic of the group.”
Barnes told Warriors.com TV, “The biggest thing is just trying to keep my body right. I’m not trying to think too much about a specific dunk. I kind of want to have the spontaneous factor, just kind of go out there, kind of feel it out, don’t have too much scripted.”
Here are some Jason Richardson dunks that Barnes might pay homage to.
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