Norman Powell’s first appearance at the NBA All-Star Game afforded the Miami Heat forward the opportunity to play in two All-Star Games, under the World vs. USA format adopted for Sunday’s round-robin event at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
Ultimately, it left the Miami Heat forward at a double loss, with his Team World falling in a pair of games against domestic talent.
Although born in San Diego, Powell played for the World team because of his time with the Jamaican national team, the country of his father’s heritage.
Scores aside, Powell said it was a memorable experience.
“The experience was amazing, no complaints,” he said. “Being able to participate in a full weekend for the first time, the 3-point contest and the All-Star game, just enjoying and creating memories with all the guys that I’ve gone up against and competed with and looked up to before I even made it to the NBA. So it’s an A-plus weekend for me.”
Playing off the bench in a pair of 12-minute games, Powell first went scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in 6:55 in his team’s first game, a 37-35 loss to Team Stars, a game that went to overtime and was won on a 3-pointer by Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes.
In his team’s second game, Powell closed with five points on 2-of-4 shooting in 6:45, helping tie it late before Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, playing in his home arena, gave Team Stripes a 48-45 victory with a decisive 3-pointer.
In his 11th season, Powell, 32, was selected as an All-Star reserve by Eastern Conference coaches.
Making the experience all the more meaningful was a surprise party thrown in his honor by friends and family, as he made his South California return.
“The most memorable moment,” he said, “would be the surprise party that was put on for me. Walking in and seeing everybody that has helped me along this journey of making it to the NBA and having an 11-year career, since elementary school, you know, all the way up until the NBA, it’s just a moment that you can’t even put into words – seeing everybody that’s encouraged you, helped you in your toughest and darkest times, to stay motivated, stay focused, and stay setting out to achieve the expectations and goals that I had out for myself.”
The appearance came a week after the birth of Powell’s first child, a daughter.
“I think she’ll be really proud of me and hopefully just looking at my career will motivate her one day to go after something that she wants, as well,” he said. “And hopefully I’ll get some brownie points for being a cool dad amongst her friends.”
Team USA Stars won the round-robin competition, with that roster’s Anthony Edwards named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, winning the Kobe Bryant Award.
Sunday’s appearance for Powell came after he finished fifth in the 3-point contest on All-Star Saturday a day earlier. Powell remained after that contest to root on Heat teammate Keshad Johnson, who then won the All-Star dunk contest.
Sunday, Heat two-way player Jahmir Young played in the G League All-Star game, where his team was eliminated in the opening round of that four-team tournament, with Young scoring six points on 2-of-4 shooting in 7:08 of action.
The Heat are in the midst of an eight-day All-Star break, to resume their schedule Friday against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena.
