Andre Emmett named D-League All-Star Game MVP as Futures steamroll Prospects
Let's all hope that Sunday's main event, the NBA All-Star Game, is a little closer than Sunday afternoon's appetizer.
The D-League All-Star Game was hardly a game at all, with the Eastern Conference Futures squad absolutely destroying the Western Conference Prospects team in a 129-94 final. The results rarely matter in fun showcases like these, but a close result and tight finish is preferable to the blowout nature of Sunday's event at the Barclays Center.
It was journeyman and long-time D-League veteran Andre Emmett doing the bulk of the damage for the Futures team, earning MVP honors with a 28-point performance that came on 10-of-14 shooting. Emmett has had two cups of coffee in the NBA and has spent time in Lithuania, Belgium, France, Venezuela, China, Puerto Rico, Lebanon and Mexico between four D-League stops.
"Stay consistent, get better every day and the rest will take care of itself," the 32-year-old Emmett said of how he can get back to the NBA, three years to the day that he was called up by the New Jersey Nets for his second and most recent NBA tour of duty.
Emmett was flanked by seven teammates who scored in double figures, including notable NBA prospects like Seth Curry, Khem Birch and current Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tim Frazier, who also dished 10 assists.
The Prospects side was led by a 28-point performance from Quincy Miller, who's expected to sign a rest-of-season deal with the Sacramento Kings some time after the All-Star break.
Earlier in the afternoon, Jarvis Threatt won the D-League Dunk Contest, while Jarrell Eddie took home the Three-Point Shootout crown.