On a night full of weak contests, the NBA reminded us all to be #Sagerstrong.
Following Eric Gordon’s victory in the 3-point contest on All-Star Saturday night, TNT broadcaster Ernie Johnson stopped the action at the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans to put on a touching tribute to the late, great former TNT broadcaster Craig Sager.
Sager died at 65 in December after a long battle with cancer, and there have been many touching tributes from the NBA world since his death. Saturday night was a little bit different, as several players, former players and celebrities were called out to center court to shoot 3-pointers for charity.
Players like James Harden, Reggie Miller, DeMar Derozan and celebrities like DJ Khaled and Michael B. Jordan combined to make 13 3-pointers to raise $130,000.
But they weren’t done yet.
After Steph Curry attempted several half-court shots to get the total to $500,000, Johnson called out Shaquille O’Neal, who was accompanied by Sager’s son. Shaq lifted him up and he put it through the basket to earn the $500,000 donation to the Sager Strong Foundation, which supports cancer research and education.
For $500k to the #SagerStrong foundation... Craig Sager's son with the dunk (@SHAQ with the assist) pic.twitter.com/ZncYOjFzKL
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 19, 2017
This was definitely the highlight of an otherwise mediocre All-Star Saturday Night.