McDonald's All-American Game
The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the high-school basketball season, in an East vs. West format. As part of the annual event, boys and girls compete in a slam dunk contest and a three-point shooting competition, and compete alongside All-American Game alumni in a timed team shootout. The last of these competitions replaced separate overall timed skills competitions for boys and girls. It is rare for girls to compete in the slam dunk contest. They have, however, won it twice—first in 2004 by Candace Parker, and most recently in 2019 by Fran Belibi.[1] The boys' game has been contested annually since 1978, and the girls game has been played each year since it was added in 2002.
The McDonald's All-American designation began in 1977 with the selection of the inaugural team. That year, the All-Americans played in an all-star game against a group of high school stars from the Washington, D.C. area.[2] The following year, the McDonald's game format of East vs. West was begun with a boys contest. In 2002, with the addition of a girls contest, the current girl-game / boy-game doubleheader format began.
The McDonald's All-American Team is the best-known of the American high-school basketball All-American teams. Designation as a McDonald's All-American instantly brands a player as one of the top high-school players in the United States or Canada. Selected athletes often go on to compete in college basketball. All but two of the teams to win the NCAA men's championship since 1978 has had at least one McDonald's All-American on its roster. The exceptions are the 2002 Maryland Terrapins[3] and 2014 Connecticut Huskies.[4]
The teams are sponsored by the fast-food chain McDonald's. Proceeds from the annual games go to local Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and their Ronald McDonald House programs.
35 Greatest Boys McDonald's All-Americans
On January 31, 2012, McDonald's All-American Games unveiled its list of 35 of the Greatest McDonald's All-Americans, released in celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the McDonald's All-American High School Boys Basketball Game.[5]
The Greatest Boys McDonald's All-Americans list, includes some of the top names in men's basketball history, and features past and present Olympics, NBA and NCAA stars. The players were selected by members of the McDonald's All-American Games Selection Committee. In determining the list, all past McDonald's All-Americans were considered based on their high school careers and performances in the McDonald's All-American Games, success at the collegiate and professional level, and post-career accomplishments. The full list of players includes:
- Magic Johnson (1977)
- Clark Kellogg (1979)
- Ralph Sampson (1979)
- Isiah Thomas (1979)
- Dominique Wilkins (1979)
- James Worthy (1979)
- Sam Perkins (1980)
- Glenn "Doc" Rivers (1980)
- Patrick Ewing (1981)
- Michael Jordan (1981)
- Chris Mullin (1981)
- Kenny Smith (1983)
- Danny Manning (1984)
- Larry Johnson (1987)
- Christian Laettner (1988)
- Alonzo Mourning (1988)
- Shawn Kemp (1988)
- Bobby Hurley (1989)
- Shaquille O’Neal (1989)
- Grant Hill (1990)
- Glenn Robinson (1991)
- Jason Kidd (1992)
- Jerry Stackhouse (1993)
- Vince Carter (1995)
- Kevin Garnett (1995)
- Paul Pierce (1995)
- Kobe Bryant (1996)
- Jay Williams (1999)
- Carmelo Anthony (2002)
- Amar'e Stoudemire (2002)
- LeBron James (2003)
- Chris Paul (2003)
- Dwight Howard (2004)
- Tyler Hansbrough (2005)
- Kevin Durant (2006)
- Derrick Rose (2007)
Annual game results
An MVP/MOP award is presented each year to the most outstanding boy and girl players. The award is officially called the John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award.
Boys
East All-Stars (20 wins) | West All-Stars (21 wins) |
---|---|
a Denotes All-Star Games in which joint winners were named
Girls
- Notes
Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year
Prior to each game since 1997 (Boys)/2002 (Girls), a national player of the year has been chosen from the field of McDonald's All-Americans based on activity in the community, classroom and on the court. The award is named in honor of high school coach Morgan Wootten, one of the founders of the McDonald's game.[9]
Past winners
- Boys
- 1997: Shane Battier
- 1998: Ronald Curry
- 1999: Jonathan Bender
- 2000: Chris Duhon
- 2001: Aaron Miles
- 2002: Torin Francis
- 2003: LeBron James
- 2004: Dwight Howard
- 2005: Josh McRoberts
- 2006: Greg Oden
- 2007: Kevin Love
- 2008: Greg Monroe
- 2009: Derrick Favors
- 2010: Harrison Barnes
- 2011: Austin Rivers
- 2012: Shabazz Muhammad
- 2013: Jabari Parker[10]
- 2014: Jahlil Okafor
- 2015: Ben Simmons
- 2016: Lonzo Ball
- 2017: Wendell Carter Jr.
- 2018: RJ Barrett
- 2019: James Wiseman
- 2020: Evan Mobley
- Girls
- 2002: Nicole Wolff
- 2003: Ivory Latta
- 2004: Candace Parker
- 2005: Abby Waner
- 2006: Tina Charles
- 2007: Maya Moore
- 2008: Elena Delle Donne
- 2009: Kelsey Bone
- 2010: Chiney Ogwumike
- 2011: Elizabeth Williams
- 2012: Breanna Stewart
- 2013: Taya Reimer
- 2014: Ariel Atkins
- 2015: Katie Lou Samuelson
- 2016: Crystal Dangerfield
- 2017: Evina Westbrook
- 2018: Christyn Williams
- 2019: Haley Jones
- 2020: Paige Bueckers
Sprite/Powerade Jam Fest Award Winners
The slam dunk contest was first held as an unofficial event in 1985, and became an official part of the festivities in 1987.
The three-point contest was first held for boys in 1989, with a girls' competition added alongside the inaugural girls' game in 2002.
The skills contest was added for both boys and girls in 2002, with separate events held for both sexes through 2015.
In 2016, the skills contest was discontinued and replaced with a "Legends & Stars Shootout", involving teams consisting of one boy, one girl, and one All-American Game alumnus of either sex. Within each individual entry of Legends & Stars Shootout winners, the teams are listed in the aforementioned order. The Shootout is a timed competition in which each team must make a layup, free throw, three-pointer, and halfcourt shot in that order.[11]
Year | Dunk Contest | 3-Point Contest | Skills Contest | Legends & Stars Shootout |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Michael Porter [12] | |||
1987 | Jerome Harmon | |||
1988 | Matt Steigenga | |||
1989 | James Robinson | Pat Graham | ||
1990 | Darrin Hancock | Adrian Autry | ||
1991 | Jimmy King | Sharone Wright | ||
1992 | Carlos Strong | Chris Collins | ||
1993 | Jerry Stackhouse | Chris Kingsbury | ||
1994 | Ricky Price | Trajan Langdon | ||
1995 | Vince Carter | Louis Bullock | ||
1996 | Lester Earl | Nate James | ||
1997 | Baron Davis | Shane Battier | ||
1998 | Ronald Curry | Teddy Dupay | ||
1999 | Donnell Harvey | Jason Kapono | ||
2000 | DeShawn Stevenson | Chris Duhon | ||
2001 | David Lee | Mo Williams | ||
2002 | Carmelo Anthony | J.J. Redick (boys) Shanna Zolman (girls) | Torin Francis (boys) Courtney LaVere (girls) | |
2003 | LeBron James | Mike Jones (boys) Ivory Latta (girls) | Brian Butch (boys) Erin Lawless (girls) | |
2004 | Candace Parker | Darius Washington Jr. (boys) Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood (girls) | LaMarcus Aldridge (boys) Charde Houston (girls) | |
2005 | Gerald Green | Mario Chalmers (boys) Erika Arriaran (girls) | Richard Hendrix (boys) Christina Wirth (girls) | |
2006 | Gerald Henderson, Jr. | Wayne Ellington (boys) Allison Hightower (girls) | James Keefe (boys) Michelle Harrison (girls) | |
2007 | Blake Griffin | Chris Wright (boys) Italee Lucas (girls) | Nolan Smith (boys) Cetera DeGraffenreid (girls) | |
2008 | DeMar DeRozan | Larry Drew II (boys) Ashley Corral (girls) | Jrue Holiday (boys) Nneka Ogwumike (girls) | |
2009 | Avery Bradley | Ryan Kelly (boys) Skylar Diggins (girls) | Dante Taylor (boys) China Crosby (girls) | |
2010 | Josh Selby | Cory Joseph (boys) Maggie Lucas (girls) | Keith Appling (boys) Chelsea Gray (girls) | |
2011 | Le'Bryan Nash | Kyle Wiltjer (boys) Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (girls) | Michael Carter-Williams (boys) Ariya Crook-Williams (girls) | |
2012 | Shabazz Muhammad | Rasheed Sulaimon (boys) Morgan Tuck (girls) | Tyler Lewis (boys) Jordan Jones (girls) | |
2013 | Chris Walker | Nigel Williams-Goss (boys) Kaela Davis (girls) | Demetrius Jackson (boys) Jessica Washington (girls) | |
2014 | Grayson Allen | James Blackmon Jr. (boys) Alexa Middleton (girls) | Tyus Jones (boys) Alexa Middleton (girls) | |
2015 | Dwayne Bacon | Luke Kennard (boys) Asia Durr (girls) | Jalen Brunson (boys) Napheesa Collier (girls) | |
2016 | Frank Jackson | Malik Monk (boys) Amber Ramirez (girls) | Jayson Tatum, Amber Ramirez, Candice Wiggins | |
2017 | Collin Sexton | Trae Young (boys) Chasity Patterson (girls) | Quade Green, Anastasia Hayes, Jayne Appel | |
2018 | Zion Williamson | Immanuel Quickley & Cam Reddish (boys) McKenzie Forbes (girls) | Romeo Langford, Christyn Williams, Candice Wiggins | |
2019 | Francesca Belibi | Cole Anthony (boys) Samantha Brunelle (girls) | Tyrese Maxey, Samantha Brunelle, Diamond DeShields |
- Note: The only female winners of the slam dunk contest are Candace Parker and Fran Belibi, who respectively won in 2004 and 2019.
References
- Barnes, Katie (March 25, 2019). "Stanford recruit Belibi wins JamFest dunk contest". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- "McDonald's All American – About the annual McDonald's All American game, a showcase for the top high school players in the country". Basketball.about.com. 2012-03-28. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- Littmann, Chris (2010-03-25). "To Win an NCAA Title, You Almost Always Need Some Help from McDonald's – From Our Editors – SBNation.com". Sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- Kussoy, Howie. "UConn defeats Kentucky to win NCAA Championship".
- "McDonald's announces its 35 greatest". ESPN.com. 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
- McDonald's All American Games All-time Stats and Award Winners.
- "Presenting McDonald's All American High School Basketball Team for 1987". Ebony. April 1987. p. 12-13.
- Olsen, Dan (April 3, 2014). "Bonus Awards From McDonald's Game". ESPNW. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- Boykin, Nick (January 20, 2020). "DeMatha Catholic basketball coach Morgan Wootten placed in home hospice care, school says". WUSA9.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- RecruitingNation: Jabari Parker wins Wootten, ESPN, April 4, 2013.
- Jordan, Jason (March 27, 2017). "Quade Green hits big shot to help team to Legends & Stars Shootout win". USA Today. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSQhFcVO9jU
External links
- Official website
- McDonald's Boys All American Teams at Basketball-Reference.com