NBA All-Star Game 2012: Predicting the Weekend's Award Winners

NBA All-Star Weekend is one of the most entertaining times in the NBA season and a must-watch for true basketball fans worldwide. This year`s festivities include a dunk contest roster filled with near-unknown high fliers and one of the most unbalanced All-Star team rosters in history (the West has just one shooting guard and small forward but four point guards and power forwards).

Predicting the award winners may be tougher this year than ever before.

Are you a sports seer? Can you predict the winners of this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend festivities? Give it a shot!

Here are my predictions for this weekend’s award winners, and I look forward to reading your predictions as well:

NBA All-Star Game 2012 Celebrity Game MVP: Anfernee Penny Hardaway

Penny Hardaway won’t win the award, which generally goes to a celebrity such as when Justin Bieber won last year, but I do predict he will be the “real MVP” of the game.

Hardaway was an unbelievable talent and All-Star during his playing days, despite never being able to fulfill his true promise due to injuries. In fact, had his health and Shaquille O’Neal not left him in Orlando alone, Penny Hardaway could easily have won multiple NBA titles, been the second coming of Magic Johnson and be preparing his Hall of Fame speech.

After recording 8,033 points, 2,658 assists, 2,099 rebounds and 812 steals in his first six seasons, Penny recorded just 2,651 points, 867 assists, 1,047 rebounds and 313 steals over the next eight years.

However, despite the injuries and his giant running mate leaving for greener, or should I say sunnier, pastures, Penny Hardaway still had a great NBA career and is remembered as the closest thing the league has seen to a Magic Johnson-like point guard since the Magic man was running show time in the City of Angels.

My prediction is that Penny Hardaway is the true star of the celebrity game and leads his team to a victory.

NBA All-Star Shooting Stars: Jameer Nelson, Dennis Scott, Marie Ferdinand-Harris

The Shooting Stars competition doesn`t draw much interest and I will honestly say I have no clue who will win…but…for the record, give me the hometown Orlando team to win it.

I can still remember Dennis Scott reigning bombs on ACC opponents while at Georgia Tech and parlaying that marksmanship into a solid NBA career. It will be a pleasure to watch Dennis shoot again.

NBA All-Star Game 2012 3-Point Shootout Champ: Anthony Morrow

Anthony Morrow is the best pure shooter in the NBA, period.

Nothing more needs to be said, and it was an absolute disgrace that he was not invited to participate in the Three-Point Shootout last season.

I predict Morrow, the man with the .439 career three-point percentage, to win in a landslide.

NBA All-Star 2012 Slam Dunk Champ: Chase Budinger

This year`s Slam Dunk Contest isn't about big names, but it should feature some big dunks!

Jeremy Evans is a freakish athlete and Derrick Williams is the biggest name, but I will take Chase Budinger to win the contest with his volleyball hops.

I also would have liked to see Budinger in the Three-Point Shootout, where I would have predicted he would finish in the top two. Budinger may be a high flier but he also shoots 40.4 percent from three on a whopping 7.6 attempts per 48 minutes!

NBA All-Star Game 2012 Rising Stars Challenge MVP: John Wall

Honestly I`d like to pick Kyrie Irving to win MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge, just as I picked him to win the skills competition, especially considering he was Charles Barkley`s first draft pick and Barkley may play him more minutes than anyone else in the youngsters' de facto All-Star Game.

However, I will go with John Wall, who I believe is the most physically talented guard in the game. While I do not think he's the best player (that honor belongs to Blake Griffin), guards generally dominate all-star type games.

John Wall has gone from the real rookie of the year last season (Blake Griffin was not truly a rookie) and being touted as the league`s next great point guard to being reviled by talking heads and considered a disappointment this season. Such is completely ridiculous for a player who is averaging nearly 17 points and eight assists to go with five rebounds, all while improving his field-goal and free-throw percentage.

The fact of the matter is John Wall is a star, an ultra-talented 21-year-old star who just happens to play on a horrible and horribly young basketball team. I expect Wall to come out blazing in the Rising Star Challenge and take home MVP honors.

All-Star Game 2012 MVP: Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant has won four All-Star Game MVP trophies and I predict a fifth will come Sunday.

Kobe Bryant should have a handful of regular-season MVP trophies by now (yet has just one) and at this point in his career, another is probably not in the cards. The All-Star Game and the NBA Finals are the only times Mr. Bryant has a realistic shot at a coveted MVP award and he always seems to rise to the challenge.

LeBron James may have the best stats in this Sunday`s All-Star Game and Dwight Howard may be the one player everyone hopes will win the MVP award as the game is being played in his city, but Kobe Bryant will be out to spoil the party.

I also believe the West has the better team and will win the game; therefore a player from the West has the best chance of winning the award. I went back and forth between picking Bryant or Clippers point guard Chris Paul but ultimately went with the Black Mamba.