Kawhi Leonard doesn't care if Gatorade is an official sponsor of the NBA - if they aren't cutting him a check he will simply refuse to give that tasty sports drink any free publicity. Those are the rules.

Case in point, Kawhi made sure to remove the bottle of Gatorade that was intentionally placed on his table ahead of his post-game interview on Sunday night. The best part is you can even hear Kawhi, perfectly on brand, mutter to himself, “Not sponsored by Gatorade.”

While some would classify this as a definite reach, others are out here wondering how things ended so perfectly after Meek Mill realized that mathematical calculations related to the final score of the NBA All-Star Game end up totalling the jersey numbers of both Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant.

Kobe and Gigi were among nine fatalities in a tragic Calabasas helicopter crash last month, which has shaken the basketball community to its core. The Association has allowed multiple tributes to the late Los Angeles Lakers legend and his daughter to take place during games, dedicating this weekend’s All-Star showcase in their memories. In addition to both LeBron James and Giannis Antetokoumpo’s teams wearing Kobe and Gigi’s numbers on their backs, Meek Mill realized that the final score can be translated to another sign of the two angels looking down on us.

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Team LeBron ended up bringing home the win, with Kawhi Leonard winning the first-ever Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP Award. And though the tributes were clear, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill believes that the final score of the game was cryptically meant to be. Team LeBron scored a total of 157 points while Team Giannis was two points behind at 155. If you subtract their total from Team LeBron’s you end up with Gianna Bryant’s jersey number. In addition to that, if you add up all the individual numbers in the final score, you get Kobe Bryant’s number.

If that ain’t ironic, I don’t know what is. This is surely just a coincidence but still, it’s pretty damn cool.

Kawhi Leonard was a force to be reckoned with at this year’s NBA All-Star Game. He ended up winning the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy after propelling Team LeBron to victory. Leonard had 30 points in the game and was all over the court. Playing with the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Leonard was given some space to shine and he made the most of it. In an era where he Kawhi is preoccupied with load management, he shocked fans and came through with a blistering performance.

Following the match, Leonard was asked about LeBron and AD. Of course, Leonard could have joined the Lakers in the offseason but instead, he decided to join the Los Angeles Clippers. Had the three teamed up, they would have been unstoppable. Either way, it’s clear Leonard enjoyed his All-Star experience with the Lakers stars.

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“It was fun,” Leonard said according to Lakers Nation. “I played with Bron and A.D. last year, and I think the year before that or so. But it’s always fun just to get around guys that are very competitive, see what they do on an everyday basis. Just talking, just being their teammate. We go at each other all year round, and just, like I said, it’s great to be able to pick their brain and just be around them and joke and laugh.”

If you’re a Lakers fan, all you can do at this point is hold your head in your hands and think of what could have been.

Dallas Mavericks second-year superstar Luka Doncic earned All Star honors for the first time this season, and he admitted to being a little star struck by all of the celebrities who showed out in Chicago this past weekend. Out of all the A-listers who made the trip to the United Center for Sunday night's All Star Game, Doncic told reporters he was most pleased to see Cardi B seated courtside.

Some of the NBA's best players were in Chicago last night for the annual All-Star game. In the end, Team LeBron defeated Team Giannis by only two points in what was one of the most exciting All-Star games we have ever seen. The rules for the final quarter are what ultimately made this game so entertaining. Essentially, they took the winning score after three quarters and added 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant. Whoever reached that score first, would become the winner. This also meant that the last quarter wasn't timed.

Ice Cube's league, the Big3, plays all of their matches without a timer. Whoever reaches 50 points first, wins. In light of this, Cube took to Twitter where he immediately took credit for the success of the all-star game. As he explains, without the Big3, the NBA wouldn't have been able to come up with such a great idea.

LeBron James got to captain his own All-Star team for the second-straight year. Last night, his squad defeated Team Giannis 157-155 in what was potentially the best All-Star game we have ever seen. The format led to an incredibly exciting finish while Kawhi Leonard won the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy. Overall, it was a fantastic event and everyone seemed to have an amazing time. As you would expect, LeBron was a huge focal point of the event and his every little move was photographed.

Today, LeBron took to Instagram where he shared one of his favorite snaps from the evening. In the image below, LeBron is going up against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Both James and Giannis take up very little space in the photo as the rest of it is filled out by some famous faces. Of course, we’re talking about Quavo and Offset from Migos, Cardi B, Spike Lee, and even 2 Chainz.

Famous faces are nothing new when it comes to All-Star weekend although it’s cool to see everyone represented in one picture. Usually, photos like this have random fans who just so happen to sit courtside. This time around, we got to see who’s who of pop culture, all getting together to watch two of the best players in the NBA excel at their craft. 

Needless to say, it must have been a night to remember for everyone involved.

Kobe Bryant's tragic passing came as a shock to the NBA community and over the last few weeks, the players have come together with a plethora of tributes that pay homage to the late star. Dwight Howard was one of the players who had a close relationship with Kobe, even if sometimes it wasn't on good terms. Over the past couple of years, the two had patched things up and Bryant was even supposed to help Howard in this year's dunk contest. With recent events in mind, Howard decided to change his dunk contest routine and added the number 24 to his Superman cape.

According to Tania Ganguli, Howard revealed what his plans were for Kobe, had he been there. Essentially, Kobe would have handed Howard the cape which would have had the number 24. It would have been an incredible moment although what Howard ended up doing was just as great.

Among all the high-profile guests at the NBA All-Star Game last night in Chicago, Illinois, one of the strangest appearances had to go to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West being seated right next to J. Cole in the courtside area. The two rappers have never seemed to see eye-to-eye on things and, while there's certainly mutual respect, West's recent behavior has led the Dreamville head honcho to be critical of him in his music. Most notably, their differences were displayed on "False Prophets," a song which Cole has confirmed relates to Kanye partially. For some reason, the two rappers reunited on the sidelines this weekend and, when a photographer walked over to grab a few shots of them, nobody looked too pleased about the situation.

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"Cole sitting with Kanye after he's been dissing him on songs for the past like 3 years is kinda wild," wrote Drew Corrigan, a Philadelphia 76ers commentator, on Twitter. The post included a photo of Cole and Kanye looking miserable. Fans are commenting that the North Carolina rapper looks like he wishes he could be anywhere but in that stadium at that moment, whereas Ye's smug look is somewhat on-brand for him anyways. Still, they likely would have preferred getting seated a little further away from each other.

At least they enjoyed a good showing from both All-Star squads, who put on an exhibition game that we'll remember for the next few years. Do you think the tension was as strong between Cole and Kanye as it seems?

Following the death of Kobe Bryant, the NBA began looking for ways to honor him at the All-Star Game. One of the things the league came up with was a fourth-quarter that would be first to 24 points, based on the score of the winning team after three quarters. Essentially, if the score is 100-96, the winning team would have to get to 124 points, first. It's also important to note that this format made it so that the final quarter isn't timed. It was completely based on the score.

At first, fans were skeptical of how this format would work but in the end, it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to the All-Star Game. Team LeBron rallied to defeat Team Giannis by a score of 157-155 and the game was simply phenomenal. Throughout the final quarter, both teams were butting their best foot forward and doing everything they could to get calls. At one point, Kyle Lowry took a late charge just so he could prevent James Harden from scoring a late three-pointer to seal the win.

Apparently, NBA All-Star weekend is just as much about the strippers as it is about the basketball players. It’s clear that the weekend’s events promote ditching the competitive spirit of the regular season in favor of some more lighthearted fun, but the extent of the partying that goes on may be a lesser known fact. For all those out of the loop, TMZ just gave us some inside scoop about what goes down at the after-hour All-Star celebrations. 

                                     Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

As TMZ put it, “NBA All-Star Weekend is like an annual Super Bowl for the strippers.” Strippers fly across the country to whichever city happens to be hosting the year’s All-Star game in hopes of offering their services at its top strip clubs. Some clubs require dancers to pay fees of $300 to $350 per night to be added to their roster. Other clubs recruit women from other states to ensure their patrons receive the best possible entertainment. Considering the large sums of cash these customers come prepared to dispense, it’s important to keep them pleased. Sources over at Ocean Gentleman’s Club, Factory and Club O detailed that each club will have $450,000 in single dollar bills waiting to be tossed in the air. 

Offset was enlisted to host one of the biggest affairs of the weekend – Ocean Gentleman’s Club’s Sunday night party after the All-Star Game. Turntable legend Kid Capri hosted that club’s Saturday night bash. Based on Offset’s birthday celebrations back in December, we know he’s capable of tearing down a club and leaving its floor carpeted in cash.