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SALT LAKE CITY — Lauri Markkanen was open in the corner with a chance to deliver the knockout blow.
He wasn't going to win the All-Star Game MVP — like John Stockton and Karl Malone did 30 years ago — but the hometown All-Star had a chance to etch his name into Salt Lake City All-Star lore.
But he hesitated a bit.
"I was thinking if I should dunk it or shoot a three," he said. "Joel (Embiid) was trying to get me in the paint and go dunk it. That's why it took so long to shoot that three."
That slight pause might have thrown off his rhythm just enough. His shot attempt went in and out — much to the dismay of the Vivint Arena crowd. Soon after, Damian Lillard (a hometown All-Star in his own right) nailed the game-winning shot to help Team Giannis reach the target score and give them a 184-175 win over Team LeBron.
"It would have been cool to knock that one down, but we got the job done, too," Markkanen said.
Markkanen had 13 points and seven rebounds in his first All-Star game in 26 minutes, the third most on his team.
His successful night started in inauspicious way, though, when he was picked last in the All-Star draft. But even that came with an interesting twist; he and Nikola Jokic were the last two starters on stage — the reserves were drafted first — when LeBron James went to make his final selection.
Confusingly, Jokic got up before James had made the pick and walked over to join his team.
"I thought I was last," Jokic said. "I just stood up because I thought I was last. And I felt bad, especially now that we lost."
As for Markkanen, he didn't care about where he was drafted. He joked with the media on Saturday night when the possibility of such an outcome was broached and kept the jokes flying on Sunday.
"You called it — such a hater," he said with a smile. "It's your own people, sometimes.
"I mean, I'm just glad to be a part of this whole experience," he continued. "I didn't really care. But, I mean, he (Jokic) thought he was the last pick, so that's why he stood up so early and made me look even worse. I blame it on him."
Lauri Markkanen explains why he appeared to hesitate on his potential game-winning shot: pic.twitter.com/VeF69PSjob
— Ryan Miller (@millerjryan) February 20, 2023
With the way the game unfolded, there was no reason to care about when he was selected. It wasn't long into the contest that Markkanen had his first points by dunking a half-court lob thrown by — as fate would have it — Donovan Mitchell.
"It's just one of those moments. It's funny how things work out," Mitchell said postgame. "I've known Lauri for a while, and it's great to see him thrive here and have that moment."
Markkanen quickly added another alley-oop dunk and a 3-pointer from the wing. When he hit the triple, he actually led his team with 7 points. He scored 11 by halftime, but took a backseat — like everyone else — to Mitchell and eventual MVP Jayson Tatum's historic second half.
The Boston wing finished with 55 points, and Mitchell had 40 as the two dueled for MVP honors, hitting deep three after deep three to lead Team Giannis to the relatively easy victory.
Markkanen was just happy to be along for the ride.
"Pretty surreal. I was excited to get out there," he said. "This is what we were waiting for. I was just happy to get out there and play with those guys."
A surreal moment he's hoping to get to come back to in the future.
"It's just a great experience to be a part of, and I can't wait to be here again," Markkanen said.
