Phoenix Suns Top 5 Moments from 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend

High-flying dunks, clean blazers, no-look triples, and a few of our favorite Phoenix Suns wrapped up in the middle of it all? The only thing missing from the 2022 NBA All-Star Game was defense, but if you tuned into this mid-season extravaganza to watch that, you have only yourself to blame.

Even with the cloud of Chris Paul’s wrist injury growing dark on Sunday night once word got out that the Point God might miss the rest of the regular season, this parade of sorts remained quite dry, with NBA stars of the past and present still enjoying themselves from start to finish.

But a few moments still stood out amongst the rest, especially with relation to the Suns organization. As the All-Star festivities collaborated with the NBA’s celebration of its 75th anniversary, these five moments featuring guys who have worn Phoenix threads at one point or another deserve another look before we move onto the regular season’s latter half.

Phoenix Suns All-Star Moments: Chris Paul Receives Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award

Becoming the first person ever to do so, Suns point guard Chris Paul was awarded the Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award during a timeout in last night’s All-Star Game. The award, which was presented to Paul and his daughter by Vanessa Bryant, honored Paul for his contributions to the advancement of girls’ and women’s basketball, and advocacy for the WNBA.

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With the late great Kobe Bryant being perhaps the strongest supporter of the WNBA and its growth over the past decade, and with Paul having followed in his old rival’s footsteps by showing a similar level of support, this award was well-deserved.

Also with Bryant’s tragic passing still on the minds of everyone attending last night, this moment felt bigger than any of Ja Morant’s rim-rocking dunks or Stephen Curry’s barrage of 3-pointers.

Phoenix Suns All-Star Moments: Devin Booker Tries the Swipe Through Move on Chris Paul

For the first time since 2020, both Chris Paul and Devin Booker stepped onto a basketball court as foes rather than allies, allowing Suns fans to watch their favorite backcourt duo from an entirely different perspective.

Although Paul’s wrist injury kept him on the bench for all but a few minutes, he did go head-to-head with Booker for a few moments. The most memorable one did not feature any mid-range jumpers, but instead Booker trying to pull Paul’s infamous “swipe through” move on the Point God himself.

Being the originator of this strategic swing-through motion meant to draw easy fouls, Paul was able to refrain from biting on it. However, he did crack a smile, as did almost everyone watching, as it felt like a fun representation of all that Paul has taught Booker over the past two years.

Phoenix Suns All-Star Moments: Devin Booker Breaks out his Camera Once Again

Devin Booker turned himself into a meme when he and his fellow Suns went to the WNBA Finals a few months ago to cheer on the Phoenix Mercury, pulling out a digital camera that reeked of mid-to-late 2000s nostalgia to snap a photo after a clutch Skylar Diggins-Smith layup.

The screenshot of Booker holding the camera went viral, which Booker jokingly re-created yesterday afternoon, at one point using what appeared to be the same camera to take a picture of Chris Paul, Dennis Rodman, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen, Stephen Curry, and Dwayne Wade.

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It was just another small, but fun moment that made this year’s All-Star Weekend something to remember. If he ever gets the film developed, Booker will also have a quite the picture to add to his portfolio.

Phoenix Suns All-Star Moments: Shaquille O’Neal’s Thank You Message

Former Phoenix Sun Shaquille O’Neal often spends his time on TNT bashing Charles Barkley, racing Kenny Smith to the big board, or eating Carolina Reaper chips. But last night, he delivered a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in his NBA career that really hit home.

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Although O’Neal will not be remembered as a Sun and his tenure with the team did not exactly go as planned, this short speech of his was clearly directed at all who helped him on his NBA journey, which includes the Suns organization.

Regardless, you could hear the gratitude and humility in the Diesel’s voice as he delivered this message. It felt raw, honest, and was moving for all basketball fans, but especially for those who watched O’Neal’s career in its entirety.

Phoenix Suns All-Star Moments: Devin Booker’s Two Lob Finishes

Seeing typical foes come together on the court remains one of the better parts of any All-Star Game. This year, Devin Booker linked up with both Khris Middleton and Ja Morant to finish off alley-oop sequences which felt both strange and majestic at the same time.

The first lob came from Morant, being just a simple toss up on a fast break which Booker flushed home with two hands. With Booker and Morant being the West’s second and third best guards so far this year, and with their “anything you can do I can do better” sequence from earlier this year still fresh in everyone’s minds, watching them come together here was something else.

In a similar fashion with Booker and Middleton having history as NBA Finals opponents and Olympic teammates all from within the past calendar year, watching them connect on a one-handed slam finish felt even more earth-shattering.

The play also helped Team Durant nearly steal the victory from Team James in his home city of Cleveland. LeBron’s squad eventually did win the game a few sequences later, but this is a play Suns fans will want to hold onto at least until the regular season resumes later this week.

Still, these five moments were just sprinkles on what was an incredible weekend from an overall perspective. So if we missed anything, feel free to mention it in the comments below!