Russell Westbrook is named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game in New York. (GETTY IMAGES)

When it comes to celebrating its players, past or present, no league does it better than the NBA. And this weekend was no exception.

New York City hosted this year’s festivities, and the Big Apple got a real treat. It started with a spin move by a 13-year-old Little League World Series sensation in the Celebrity Game that nearly blew up Twitter. It progressed to a spectacular All-Star Saturday Night with a stacked field in the 3-point shootout and a one-man show in the dunk contest. And it culminated in a record-setting All-Star Game on Sunday that nearly saw Wilt Chamberlain’s 53-year-old scoring record.

Here are the five best moments from the 2015 All-Star Weekend:

Russell Westbrook earns MVP after 41-point performance
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard lit up Madison Square Garden with a performance for the ages, joining Wilt and Michael Jordan as the only players to score 40 points in an All-Star Game. Westbrook made 16 of 28 shots from the field, and he could have easily surpassed Wilt’s 42-point mark set in 1962 had he not missed at least four easy layups. Westbrook started simmering in the second quarter when he knocked down back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Midtown Manhattan. He broke the record for most points in one half when he had 27 after the first two quarters. Westbrook also delivered two monster dunks that got the Garden crowd on its feet. On one of his dunks, the Thunder guard was up so high he hit his head on the backboard cushion. LeBron James called Westbrook “unbelievable.”

Steph Curry proves he’s best shooter in the world
With a lineup featuring the NBA’s leading scorer, last year’s All-Star Game MVP, a player who recently set a record for points in a single quarter, last year’s champion, two MVP candidates, and perhaps the greatest 3-point shooter ever, the Footlocker 3-Point Shooting Contest figured to be one of the greatest the event has ever seen. And it certainly didn’t disappoint. You know this contest was serious business when 22 wasn’t enough to make it to the final. The competition came down to Kyrie Irving and a pair of Splash Brothers — Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry bested his GSW teammate when he swished 13 straight in the finals en route to 27 out of a possible 34 points. The win cemented Curry’s place as the game’s best pure shooter.

Zach LaVine puts on out-of-this-world dunk act
Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Zach LaVine entered the Sprint Slam Dunk Contest as the heavy favorite, and he lived up to the hype. The competition had three other worthy challengers in Orlando’s Victor Oladipo, Brooklyn’s Mason Plumlee and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (aka The Greek Freak), But as soon as LaVine — who is only 19 years old — dropped his “Space Jam” dunk in the opening round it was crystal clear he was going to walk away with the title. TNT analyst Kenny Smith said: “When you got Jordan on you back this better be special.” When you have fellow NBA players reacting with the stink face, you know you’ve pulled off something real special.

Gasol brothers make All-Star Game history
One of the coolest moments came on Sunday when Pau Gasol started the game at center for the East and his younger brother Marc Gasol started the game for the West. The Gasols are the first brother combo to start an All-Star Game, a feat that may not be duplicated again.

Little League sensation Mo’ne Davis schools actor Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart may have walked away with his fourth Celebrity Game MVP award, but he was on the receiving end of a spin move that got social media world buzzing. Little League World series darling, 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis, showed off her hoop skills when he took Hart off the dribble, spun past him, and rolled in a layup. Davis’ dream is play for UConn and with moves like this Huskies coach Geno Auriemma should definitely take notice.

NBA All-Star weekend is easily the best all-star showcase among the four major professional sports leagues. Even though it is far more entertaining than the NFL Pro Bowl or MLB’s home run hitting contest, this year’s event fell a little flat.

The new Sprite Slam Dunk Contest format failed to recognize a true champion. Sure John Wall got everyone’s attention with his reverse dunk over Wizards mascot G-Man, but overall the slam dunk event looked more like an episode of “America’s Got Talent.”

All-Star weekend is all about individual achievement and signature moments authored by players. The NBA needs to go back to that formula.

The whole team format really minimizes the impact of each player’s dunk. Ben McLemore’s left-handed power slam off the bounce was almost an afterthought during the freestyle portion. It was a good thing dunk judge Magic Johnson pointed out Blazers guard Damon Lillard’s version of the East Bay Funk during the same round because most folks probably missed it.

There were some positives. The three-dunk limit is a good way to avoid drowning out the suspense and preventing dunkers from taking 10 attempts at one slam — ala Nate Robinson and Birdman Anderson. The head-to-head battle is pretty cool, reminiscent of those legendary schoolyard battles. The East definitely had the best team of dunkers. Whoever picked the West team was asleep at the wheel. Lillard, Harrison Barnes and McLemore were severely outclassed.

John Wall had the dunk of the night at NBA All-Star Saturday Night in New Orleans. (GETTY IMAGES)

The finish of the slam dunk competition must be tweaked. One more round between the three best dunkers from winning conference would have made it more exciting. Wall basically won the dunk contest with one dunk. Wouldn’t it be more fun if Wall, Paul George and Terrence Ross went at one more round in a winner-take-all format? That’s something the NBA should consider for next season.

As for the other events at All-Star Saturday, the money-ball rack in the 3-point shootout was a success. It added some spice to the event and forced players to strategize. Even though heavy favorite Steph Curry bowed out in the first round, the 3-ball competition still had drama at the end.

Spurs guard/forward Marco Belinelli’s strategy of placing his money-ball rack at the end proved to be the difference in the finals against the Wizards’ Bradley Beal.

The Skills Challenge buddy system has to go. Lillard won the competition for the second year in a row, but he had to share the stage with Jazz guard Trey Burke because the NBA thought it was a good idea to have a relay challenge instead of a skills challenge. This tag team format definitely needs to go, and return to the old format where one player (and one player only) competed.

Team Bosh defended its Shooting Stars Challenge title, but the biggest winner of the competition was Karl Malone. The Mailman caused a stir on social media with his physique. TNT’s Reggie Miller said, “the Mailman looks like he’s been lifting tractors” during his retirement. Malone appears in great shape and could probably start at power forward for this year’s Lakers.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Major League Baseball’s home run derby is no match for the NBA slam dunk contest and the 3-point shootout and skills competition simply overpowers the NFL’s Pro Bowl. In fact, I can’t even put the Pro Bowl in this argument because the NFL’s all-star game is one big waste of time.

I have so many great memories of NBA All-Star Weekend: Larry Bird winning three consecutive 3-point shootouts, the Michael Jordan-Dominique Wilkins dunk war in 1988 was an instant classic, Spud Webb winning the dunk contest in 1986 was awesome, Vince Carter threw down three of the best dunks I’ve ever seen in 2000 and Dwight Howard’s “Superman” dunk was so good it has become the signature moment of his career.

The NHL’s All-Star Weekend has been using and imitating the NBA’s format for years, but they haven’t gotten the same recognition nor the same amount of excitement.

This year the All-Star Game is in Dallas so Big D is under the spotlight this weekend to try to live up to memorable showcase events in New Orleans, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I was in Vegas in 2007 and I must admit it was one of the most spectacular weekends I’ve ever been a part of. Vegas should host All-Star Weekend every year! I ran into Mark Eaton in the casino level at the Mandalay Bay, shared a buffet line with Allan Houston, and I attended a Nike Camp with Carmelo Anthony. I even participated in the skills challenge held inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center, and proudly turned in a very respectable time of under 32 seconds.

The NBA always puts its best shoe forward during All-Star Weekend, and this season is no different. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has promised more than 90,000 to pack Cowboys Stadium for the main event on Sunday.

As for All-Star Saturday Night, the Slam Dunk Contest takes center stage with defending champion Nate Robinson going up against Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown and DeMar DeRozan. To read more about the dunkers, click on this link: www.nba.com/dunk.

Enjoy NBA All-Star Weekend. I know I will.