There are no words to describe the feeling when you’re in the same building as 19,811 other basketball fans who have the same passion and intense love for the sport as you do.

It was an early morning on Sat Feb 14th (or for those of you who decide to love your loved ones once a year, also known as Valentine’s day). Early bird gets the flight to the concrete jungle. That’s where dreams are made of right?

Once we landed at JFK we went straight to the hotel to drop off our bags and got our day started. We took our hotel shuttle into Manhattan and roamed the streets. The buzzing of people walking down Fifth Ave and around Times Square was remarkable. I couldn’t believe there were still thousands of people out and about amidst the frigid weather.

Our first stop? Why the NBA Store of course!! We had to cop an NBA All-Star sweater as a souvenir because it didn’t happen if you didn’t buy a commemorative shirt right? Lucky for us, when I was younger my father taught me how to talk to anyone and how to use my friendly demeanour and charisma to network with people. We made friends with one of the employees there who was excited that some Canadians were down in NYC. One major let down? Minimal, I mean MINIMAL Toronto Raptors gear. Like maybe  2 different hats were available and not one Lowry all-star Jersey. (Mental note for Toronto 2016, make sure all players have their names on jerseys, were Canadian after all were known for our politeness)  After our amazing time at the NBA store, we had worked up quite the appetite since we completely forgot to eat Breakfast and even Lunch for that matter. Who goes to NYC and doesn’t try authentic New York Pizza? Well we had too. We went to some teeny tiny pizza place around the corner from Times Square and ordered the most delicious pepperoni and sausage pizza and then grabbed a tea from Starbucks. When we arrived at the crammed Starbucks I spotted a tall man who looked extremely familiar. Who was he? Well he happened to be one of the the greatest players to ever play the game. Clyde Drexler.

The Glide

After meeting one of the greatest to play the game we decided to get changed and head to The Empire Hotel for a day party. The party was full of beautiful people and great music. We met a few different people from around the U.S. and then decided to head across the street for dinner. We decided to stop at Bar Boulud a beautiful quaint French Bistro. We didn’t realize until we walked in that it was Valentine’s day (why would two single girls remember such a thing?) and everyone was coupled off. Oh well we shrugged our shoulders, hiked up our high-heeled boots and sat at the bar that was lined with bottles of wine older than us. It didn’t take long for us to choose our meals. Anything with seafood is always my choice and Pasta or Salad is Dee’s choice. We ordered one of the best meals we have ever had.  I don’t think a meal has tingled my tastebuds better than that dish. It was the perfect way to cap off Saturday night.

All-Star Sunday was definitely one for the books! Through a friend of mine I got my name on a private guest list for The Mitchell & Ness day party at Bounce Sporting Club. This was a VIP event where you could only get in if you were on the coveted list. Once inside the Mitchell & Ness Hat-Lined club, servers were walking around with gold Moet chalices filled to the brim with Moet Mimosas and trays of hors-d’oevres.

Cup in hand, we walked around to strike up conversation with as many people as we could. We ended up meeting some really cool people whom I am still in contact with and will reunite with here in Toronto for All-Star 2016. Oh and did I mention that Gronk and Chandler Jones were there as well? Fresh off of their Superbowl Championship win. And Juelz Santana, Pee Wee Kirkland as well as Kanye’s right hand man/assistant/manager Don. C. Everyone we met were so dope and down to earth and we had some great conversations. Just as we were leaving I ran into DCYoungFly. (He is known for roasting celebs like Kevin Hart and making hilarious Instagram videos…he must be funny since he has 1.9Million followers!!)

After mingling with some of the coolest people I have ever come in contact with, we headed to the main event.

As we pulled up to Madison Square Gardens I instantly had goosebumps everywhere. For music artists to sell out MSG it is one of the greatest accomplishments next to winning a Grammy…and I got to experience that exact feeling.  I was one of 19,812 people in a sold-out arena. Mind. Blown. Walking down the concourse to our seats was such a surreal feeling. I definitely had an out of body experience, I didn’t believe I was really there. What was even cooler was the fact that we were representing an entire Country and Kyle Lowry among all of the Americans and their respective American Teams. We had great seats and got to see Shaq, Chuck and Kenny on TNT right in front of our section. I ran into a few people on the concourse including Mr. 540 himself Victor Oladipo

Victor “Mr. 540” Oladipo and I

who was in the Dunk contest the night before, Ethan Hawke and Blake Leeper who was in the celebrity all-star game and represented Team USA at the Paralympic Games in London 2012. All of this excitement and the game had not even started yet! Christina Aguilara opened the game by singing Empire State of Mind (If I were Alicia Keys I would have been slightly upset that she sang her song in her home state) then there were the player introductions.

Being in the same room as some of the greatest to ever play the game was such an unbelievable feeling. Dr.J, LeBron, James Harden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald among MANY others. The NBA All-Star game was indescribable and an experience like no other. There were many things that I witnessed with my two eyes that I am eternally grateful for and will never forget. I witnessed the first pair of brothers to start in an all-star game AND both take the tip-off against each other (Marc and Pau Gasol). Russell Westbrook had his swagger on 100 and was incredibly entertaining draining threes and jammin the ball down for some serious dunks. He was one shot away from dethroning Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA All-Star record for most points in a game but ended up with an astonishing 41 points with 27 of them in the first half in just under 12 min. It was a no-brainer that he was going to win MVP of the evening. All 4 Atlanta Hawks teammates put on a show as well. And the best part of it all? Lowry dunked!!! YES for the first time since 2008-2009!! It was a put back dunk  IN TRAFFIC too!! I was off of my seat screaming at the top of my lungs. He had a few alley-oops to LeBron and John Wall that were as magical as they were beautiful. Lowry had a conversation with referee Pat Fraher after his dunk:

Lowry: “I GOT HOPS!!!”

Ref (Pat Fraher): “I didn’t know you had hops like that!”

Lowry: “I only do it ’cause it’s the all-star game”

The most memorable play of the entire game. 6ft tall Lowry slamming back a missed shot from John Wall will be a play I will never forget. It’s too bad that the Beasts in the East didn’t win however, Russell Westbrook put on such an incredible show that the West deserved to beat the East 163-158. Witnessing the best players in the league and being in the same room as some of the most infuential people in the world, was the most amazing and fun-filled weekend of my life. Up next is Pan Am Games and a few other basketball tournaments showcasing some of the best in the world playing on Canadian soil, all leading up to the weekend of the year: TORONTO2016. All-Star 2016 is going to be a MOVIE. See you there!

 

Beauty & Basketball//YYZ