Kyle Kuzma

High-profile NBA stars performed at Highland High in front of about a thousand fans this week. How does it happen? Introducing the Powder League.

But that’s because, in the end, it didn’t try to be more than it truly was. I tweeted out the first clip of this video below featuring a Barnes dunk, and found dozens of Raptors fans in my mentions, salivating for Barnes to rejoin his team in Toronto for his second season. The Powder League chose some of its best players to play in the showcase game — the one in which the NBA’s stars would play on Tuesday night. Nope. The teams were established: Kuzma and Wright would take on Caldwell-Pope and Barnes, with six of the Powder League’s best joining them. The term “pro-am” also applied to the media covering the event: dozens of photographers, professional and otherwise, crowded along the baseline to get their clips and photos for social media outlets big and small. Barnes did lower the motor a little bit, but ended with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists. Of course, the opportunity to compete against real NBA stars was a highlight for everyone, regardless of resume. Barnes, meanwhile, is a friend of a player in the league. If the NBA’s rules allowed him to sign a deal now, you bet it’d be a max deal, worth in the neighborhood of $200 million. This year, about 20 teams signed up to play, but the league only had room for nine. It was founded three years ago by friends Keegan Rembacz and Neema Namdar, who had connections in the Utah basketball community. But he’s so promising that the Raptors are holding back on trading him in exchange for Kevin Durant.