From taking second place at the NBA Taco Bell skills challenge to scoring 8 points in 17 minutes in the 2017 NBA All-Star game, G-Time proved that he is one of the most skilled stars in the NBA.
The only type of star Gordon Hayward will definitely never be is a Salt Lake City Star (the Jazz Developmental league affiliate). Gordon proved he’s worth the max money Utah paid him to outbid the Charlotte Hornets 3 years ago.
Gordon made a splash in the NBA skills challenge which started off the All-Star Saturday night slate of events. He beat the Wizards star point guard John Wall in the first round of the competition even after trailing behind in the majority of the course. He then beat the starting East point guard in Celtics 5 foot 9 facilitator Isaiah Thomas in the first round. He is predicted by many to be Gordon’s future teammate after this season. Gordon made the statement that he would be the number one guy that Isaiah should feed if he becomes a Celtic.
The star small forward of Swat Lake City used his lengthy frame to deny the East star guards of any type of All Star victory but he was outreached in the final round by a promising young New York Knicks center in Kristaps Porzingis. Hayward and the seven foot three “Latvian Unicorn” were neck and neck before Kristaps drained the winning three while Gordon’s three missed the mark a second later.
Gordon Hayward was the winner of the losers in this competition but he got the last laugh in the NBA All Star game on Sunday night in New Orleans. The hosting conference got the win and the All-Star MVP went to the protege of the hosts in New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis.
Gordon wasn’t close to grabbing MVP honors but he was just trying to enjoy the moment and make the right basketball play in a game that is known as an isolation circus. The winning Western Conference team almost became the first All-Star team to record 200 points as they won 192-182.
While Anthony Davis filled the stat sheet with 52 points, the most points ever scored by a player in an NBA All Star game, Hayward showed some balance by recording 8 points, 2 assist and one rebound. Hayward started out the night with an easy layup and a sweet dunk and got a few more shots when he was inserted into the lineup late in the game.
Hayward wasn’t money from long range like his lights out teammate Joe “Jingles” Ingles as he missed all three of his three point attempts. He still put the Utah Jazz on the map by being the first All-Star to represents the team in six years.
He also isn’t projected to be traded like Deron Williams was days after the NBA All Star Game. Hayward looked better than D-Will six years ago as D-Will only scored 5 points in the featured matchup in the Staples Center in Los Angeles before he went to the New Jersey Nets. Jazz fans hope that every minute will be G-Time as the Jazz look to cement a home court advantage in a playoff race that just got a little more interesting with the New Orleans Pelicans acquiring another All-Star big guy in Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins. One thing that is for certain is Gordon Hayward won’t back down from anybody.