Although the NBA All Star weekend is not usually taken very seriously by the players and the league, it can give and has given an opportunity for players and teams to prove themselves to the league. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the action from last week’s 56th annual All Star game weekend in Las Vegas.

On Friday, my boy David Lee of the New York Knicks pulled out 30 points and shot 14-for-14 from the field, lifting the sophomores to a big win over the rookies. Lee is a bona fide hustler, rebounder and dunker ‘ his performance gave him more respect around the league, something he has been earning a lot of this season. Joining Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury on Isiah Thomas’ untradeable list, he will be a big part of New York’s future.

Friday also saw the celebrity game. I think this is a joke and not worth talking about, except for noting Bow Wow’s huge block on Nelly ‘ that’ll give them both something to rap about for a while.

Let’s move on to the 3-point shoot-out. Gilbert Arenas once again came up with an empty promise, after guaranteeing a victory before the competition. I can’t be the only person wondering if Arenas is beginning to turn into the NBA’s version of T.O., as ‘Hibachi’ continues to run his mouth. At least G.A. makes good on his promises every so often.

But back to the shoot-out ‘ Miami Heat guard Jason Kapono managed to beat defending champ Dirk Nowitzki, pulling out an unexpected victory and tying Mark Price’s all-time final round score of 24. Regardless of where he winds up in the Heat rotation, I see a promising future for the kid.

Over to the dunk contest ‘ defending champ and New York’s favorite little man Nate Robinson got beat in the final round by Boston Celtics sophomore Gerald Green. After trying his final dunk nine times, only to finally execute it on the 10th try, it seems as if the little man’s charisma could only take him so far this year.

Green, on the other hand, put on a great show for a guy who probably should have stayed in college. Meanwhile, his team just got off an 18-game losing streak. When you take a step back and look at who won, you see that perhaps as one of the league’s most decorated franchises they needed a little Celtic pride. As a final note on the dunk contest ‘ honorable mention goes to Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, who had one of the funniest dunks I have seen in years. The former No. 1 draft pick jumped up and slapped a sticker of himself high up on the backboard with his other hand while dunking the ball in.

Dwyane Wade took home the skills challenge again. All that can be said about this is that it just shows that Wade is a basketball-playing machine. Put in the same contest with the same obstacles set up one year later, and his time was only .3 seconds different. That combined with his ability to run the court, make smart decisions and be a nice mid-range jumper is very Michael Jordan-esque ‘ and it’s much more worth talking about than Lebron James, who still has a weak jumper and misses big foul shots.

For Saturday, ex-NBA superstar Charles Barkley, who is indisputably out of shape at 43, backpedaled to a win as the big underdog in a race against 67-year-old NBA referee Dick Bavetta. Very entertaining and funny to watch, and it’s worth noting that Barkley always manages to keep himself in the spotlight ‘ whether it be this or his unnecessary comments about his gambling problem.

Finally, to wrap up the weekend, Kobe Bryant dropped 31 points in an MVP performance at the All-Star game on Sunday, as the West abused the East in this final event of the weekend. All together, this is probably the least cared about of the events, as no one plays hard. I mean, who wants to risk getting hurt in an exhibition game?

Regardless, as long as there is plenty of open court to showboat on, the All Star game will continue to be a fan favorite.