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NBA All-Star Game

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National Basketball Association All-Star Game
2007 NBA All Star Game in Las Vegas
FrequencyAnnual
Inaugurated1951 (Boston)
Previous event2024 (Indianapolis)
Next event2025 (San Francisco)
ParticipantsEastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars
Organized byNational Basketball Association
2024 NBA All-Star Game

The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of February, the same day that the Daytona 500 was held, and one week after the Super Bowl. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a three-day event which goes from Friday to Sunday. The All-Star Game was first played at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951.

The starting lineup for each squad is selected by a combination of fan, player, and media voting,[1] while head coaches choose the reserves,[2] seven players from their respective conferences, so each side has a 12-man roster. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. If a selected player cannot participate because of injury, the NBA commissioner selects a replacement.

Traditionally, the NBA All-Star Game pitted the top players from both the Eastern Division/Eastern Conference and the Western Division/Western Conference. From 2018 to 2023, the teams were represented by the leading vote-getter from each conference and each player regardless of conference was chosen to either team via a draft.[3][4] The teams also play for a charity of their choice to help the games remain competitive.[5]

The head coach of the team with the best record in each conference is chosen to lead their respective conference in the All-Star Game, with a prohibition against consecutive appearances.[2] Known as the "Riley Rule", it was created after perennially successful Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley earned the right to coach the Western Conference team eight times in nine seasons between 1982 and 1990. The coach of the team with the next best record gets to coach instead.

History

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The idea of holding an All-Star Game was conceived during a meeting between NBA President Maurice Podoloff, NBA publicity director Haskell Cohen and Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown. At that time, the basketball world had just been rocked by the college basketball point-shaving scandal.

To regain public attention to the league, Cohen suggested the league to host an exhibition game featuring the league's best players, similar to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.[6] Although most people, including Podoloff, were pessimistic about the idea, Brown remained confident that it would be a success, and he offered to host the game and to cover all the expenses or potential losses incurred from the game.[7]

The first All-Star Game was hosted at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951, where the Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team, 111–94. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley was named as the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, and the All-Star Game became a success, drawing an attendance of 10,094, much higher than that season's average attendance of 3,500.[8]

In 2010, the NBA All-Star Game set the attendance record for a basketball game with 108,713 people attending at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This shattered the existing attendance record previously held at Ford Field on December 13, 2003, when 78,129 attendees watched Michigan State play Kentucky.[9]

The 2017 All-Star Weekend was originally awarded to Charlotte, North Carolina. On March 23, 2016, North Carolina passed House Bill 2, also known as a "bathroom bill", which was seen as discriminatory against transgender persons. As a result, the NBA announced that it would move the game to another city if the bill was not repealed or revised. After North Carolina took no action, on July 21, 2016, the NBA announced that the 2017 game would be moved to New Orleans. In March 2017, after several provisions of the bill were partially repealed, the NBA awarded the 2019 All-Star Weekend to Charlotte.

On October 3, 2017, the NBA and NBPA announced changes to the game format, starting in 2018. Instead of being divided by conference, the top vote leaders for each conference would be team captains and hold a draft to choose among the rest of the starters and reserves, regardless of conference.[5]

In 2023, Candace Parker became the first female color commentator for an NBA All-Star Game.[10]

On October 25, 2023, the NBA brought back the conference-based format for the 2024 All-Star Game. The untimed fourth quarter (known as Elam Ending), which had been in used since 2020 in honor of Kobe Bryant,[11] was also removed. However, the charity aspect was retained, with the team that scores the most points in each quarter winning a cash prize that went to their chosen charity.[12]

A new format for the 2025 All-Star Game featured a mini-tournament with four teams of eight players: three teams featuring 24 NBA All-Star selections, and a fourth team composed of the winning team from the Rising Stars Challenge, an exhibition game pitting a mix of NBA rookies and sophomores plus standouts from the NBA G League. Each team was named after the analysts of Inside the NBA. The head coaches in the tournament will still come from the teams who had the best record in their respective conference through February 2, with the assistant coaches from either team taking over the Rising Stars team and the remaining All-Star team. Three games will be played, with the team scoring at least 40 points first advancing to the next round.[13]

Rosters selection

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The starting five from each conference consists of three frontcourt players and two guards, selected by a combination of fan, player, and media voting. In 2017, the NBA moved from a pure fan vote to a weighted process wherein fan voting accounts for 50%, with player and media voting account for 25% each.[1][14] Prior to 2013, fans selected two forwards and one center instead of generic frontcourt players.[15] The NBA in 2003 began offering All-Star ballots in three languages—English, Spanish and Chinese—for fan voting of the starters.[16]

NBA coaches vote for the reserves for their respective conferences, but they cannot choose players from their own team. Each coach selects two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category. If a multi-position player is to be selected, coaches are encouraged to vote for the player at the position that is "most advantageous for the All-Star team", regardless of where the player is listed on the All-Star ballot or the position he is listed in box scores.[17] If a player is unavailable for the game due to injury, the NBA commissioner selects a replacement for the roster. If the replacement is for a fan-selected starter, the All-Star Game coach chooses the replacement in the starting lineup, and is not limited to the commissioner's addition to the roster.[18]

Multiple All-Star players can be chosen from one team, with the record being four. This has occurred nine times, the first such instance being in 1962, when four players each from the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers were chosen. The most recent game with four All-Star players from one team was the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 game.[19][20]

The game

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The game is played under normal NBA rules with some differences. Since the starting All-Stars are selected by fans, players, and media, players sometimes start the game at atypical positions. For instance, in the 2007 game, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady were chosen as the starting Western Conference guards. As both players normally play shooting guard, Bryant started the game as a point guard. Gameplay usually involves players attempting spectacular slam dunks and alley oops and defensive effort is limited. The final score is generally much higher than a competitive NBA game.

If the score is close, the fourth quarter becomes more competitive. The fourth quarter was changed in 2020 to use the Elam Ending. In normal Elam Ending rules, the game clock is turned off with four minutes remaining and a target score is set; whoever reaches the target wins the game. In 2020, the NBA took the score at the end of three quarters and added 24 points (in honor of Kobe Bryant, who had been killed in a helicopter crash a month prior). With Team Giannis leading Team LeBron 133–124 at the end of the third quarter, the target score was 157 points, and Team LeBron won the contest.

The player introductions are accompanied by significant fanfare, including lighting effects, dance music, DJ's, elaborate portable stages, and pyrotechnics. Special uniforms are designed for the game each year, usually red for the Western Conference and blue for the Eastern Conference. From 1997 to 2002, players could wear their normal team uniforms. The "host conference" also traditionally has light uniforms, except from 2010 to 2014. In the past, players who wore the same number were given the option to pick a different numeral. For example, Patrick Ewing, who normally wore #33, ended up wearing #3 early in his career as Larry Bird also had that number. Since 1997, players can keep their uniform numbers. A major recording artist typically sings "O Canada" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to tipoff.

Halftime is longer than a typical NBA game partly due to musical performances by popular artists. The first such halftime show happened in the 2000 game, with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mary J. Blige, 98 Degrees, Montell Jordan, Martina McBride, and LL Cool J performing.

All-Star Game records

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Main article: NBA All-Star Game records

All-Star Game results

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List of each All-Star Game, the venue at which it was played, and the Game MVP. Parenthesized numbers indicate multiple times that venue, city, or player has occurred as of that instance (e.g. "Michael Jordan (2)" in 1996 indicates that was his second All-Star MVP award). As of the 2024 All-Star Game (the 2023–24 NBA season), the Eastern Conference leads with a record of 38 wins and 29 losses.

Western Conference (29 wins) Eastern Conference (38 wins)

Note: Venue names are listed as of the date of the All-Star Game.

Year Result Host arena Host city Game MVP
1951 East 111, West 94 Boston Garden Boston, Massachusetts Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics
1952 East 108, West 91 Boston Garden (2) Boston, Massachusetts (2) Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
1953 West 79, East 75 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, Indiana George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1954 East 98, West 93 (OT) Madison Square Garden III** New York City, New York Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
1955 East 100, West 91 Madison Square Garden III** (2) New York City, New York (2) Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
1956 West 108, East 94 Rochester War Memorial Coliseum Rochester, New York Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
1957 East 109, West 97 Boston Garden (3) Boston, Massachusetts (3) Bob Cousy (2), Boston Celtics
1958 East 130, West 118 St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri Bob Pettit (2), St. Louis Hawks
1959 West 124, East 108 Olympia Stadium Detroit, Michigan Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis Lakers
Bob Pettit (3), St. Louis Hawks
1960 East 125, West 115 Convention Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
1961 West 153, East 131 Onondaga County War Memorial Coliseum Syracuse, New York Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
1962 West 150, East 130 St. Louis Arena (2) St. Louis, Missouri (2) Bob Pettit (4), St. Louis Hawks
1963 East 115, West 108 LA Sports Arena Los Angeles, California Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
1964 East 111, West 107 Boston Garden (4) Boston, Massachusetts (4) Oscar Robertson (2), Cincinnati Royals
1965 East 124, West 123 St. Louis Arena (3) St. Louis, Missouri (3) Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati Royals
1966 East 137, West 94 Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio Adrian Smith, Cincinnati Royals
1967 West 135, East 120 Cow Palace Daly City, California Rick Barry, San Francisco Warriors
1968 East 144, West 124 Madison Square Garden III** (3) New York City, New York (3) Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers
1969 East 123, West 112 Baltimore Civic Center Baltimore, Maryland Oscar Robertson (3), Cincinnati Royals
1970 East 142, West 135 The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2) Willis Reed, New York Knicks
1971 West 108, East 107 San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California Lenny Wilkens, Seattle SuperSonics
1972 West 112, East 110 The Forum Inglewood, California Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
1973 East 104, West 84 Chicago Stadium Chicago, Illinois Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
1974 West 134, East 123 Seattle Center Coliseum Seattle, Washington Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons
1975 East 108, West 102 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, Arizona Walt Frazier, New York Knicks
1976 East 123, West 109 The Spectrum (2) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (3) Dave Bing, Washington Bullets
1977 West 125, East 124 Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
1978 East 133, West 125 Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves
1979 West 134, East 129 Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan† David Thompson, Denver Nuggets
1980 East 144, West 136 (OT) Capital Centre Landover, Maryland George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
1981 East 123, West 120 Coliseum at Richfield Richfield, Ohio Nate Archibald, Boston Celtics
1982 East 120, West 118 Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
1983 East 132, West 123 The Forum (2) Inglewood, California (2) Julius Erving (2), Philadelphia 76ers
1984 East 154, West 145 (OT) McNichols Sports Arena Denver, Colorado Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
1985 West 140, East 129 Hoosier Dome[a] Indianapolis, Indiana† Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
1986 East 139, West 132 Reunion Arena Dallas, Texas Isiah Thomas (2), Detroit Pistons
1987 West 154, East 149 (OT) Kingdome[b] Seattle, Washington† (2) Tom Chambers, Seattle SuperSonics
1988 East 138, West 133 Chicago Stadium (2) Chicago, Illinois (2) Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
1989 West 143, East 134 Astrodome[c] Houston, Texas† Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
1990 East 130, West 113 Miami Arena Miami, Florida Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1991 East 116, West 114 Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers
1992 West 153, East 113 Orlando Arena Orlando, Florida Magic Johnson (2), Los Angeles Lakers
1993 West 135, East 132 (OT) Delta Center§ Salt Lake City, Utah Karl Malone (2), Utah Jazz
John Stockton, Utah Jazz
1994 East 127, West 118 Target Center Minneapolis, Minnesota Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls
1995 West 139, East 112 America West Arena§ Phoenix, Arizona (2) Mitch Richmond, Sacramento Kings
1996 East 129, West 118 Alamodome San Antonio, Texas Michael Jordan (2), Chicago Bulls
1997 East 132, West 120 Gund Arena§ Cleveland, Ohio Glen Rice, Charlotte Hornets
1998 East 135, West 114 Madison Square Garden*** New York City, New York (4) Michael Jordan (3), Chicago Bulls
1999 Canceled due to the league's lockout.
The game was originally set to be played at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[21]
2000 West 137, East 126 The Arena in Oakland Oakland, California Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
2001 East 111, West 110 MCI Center Washington, D.C. Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
2002 West 135, East 120 First Union Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (4) Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2003 West 155, East 145 (2OT) Philips Arena§ Atlanta, Georgia (2) Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
2004 West 136, East 132 Staples Center[d] Los Angeles, California (2) Shaquille O'Neal (2), Los Angeles Lakers
2005 East 125, West 115 Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado (2) Allen Iverson (2), Philadelphia 76ers
2006 East 122, West 120 Toyota Center Houston, Texas (2) LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2007 West 153, East 132 Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada* Kobe Bryant (2), Los Angeles Lakers
2008 East 134, West 128 New Orleans Arena§ New Orleans, Louisiana LeBron James (2), Cleveland Cavaliers
2009 West 146, East 119 US Airways Center (2) Phoenix, Arizona (3) Kobe Bryant (3), Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal (3), Phoenix Suns
2010 East 141, West 139 Cowboys Stadium[e] Arlington, Texas#† Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
2011 West 148, East 143 Staples Center (2)[f] Los Angeles, California (3) Kobe Bryant (4), Los Angeles Lakers
2012 West 152, East 149 Amway Center Orlando, Florida (2) Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
2013 West 143, East 138 Toyota Center (2) Houston, Texas (3) Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
2014 East 163, West 155 Smoothie King Center (2) New Orleans, Louisiana (2) Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
2015 West 163, East 158 Madison Square Garden (2)*** [g] New York City, New York (5) Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
2016 West 196, East 173 Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario Russell Westbrook (2), Oklahoma City Thunder
2017 West 192, East 182 Smoothie King Center (3) New Orleans, Louisiana (3) Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
2018[5] Team LeBron 148, Team Stephen 145 Staples Center (3)[h] Los Angeles, California (4) LeBron James (3), Cleveland Cavaliers
2019 Team LeBron 178, Team Giannis 164 Spectrum Center Charlotte, North Carolina (2) Kevin Durant (2), Golden State Warriors
2020 Team LeBron 157, Team Giannis 155‡ United Center Chicago, Illinois (3) Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
2021 Team LeBron 170, Team Durant 150 State Farm Arena (2) Atlanta, Georgia (3) Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2022[22] Team LeBron 163, Team Durant 160 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (2) Cleveland, Ohio (2) Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2023[23] Team Giannis 184, Team LeBron 175 Vivint Arena (2) Salt Lake City, Utah (2) Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
2024 East 211, West 186 Gainbridge Fieldhouse[24][i] Indianapolis, Indiana (2) Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
2025 TBD vs. TBD (semifinal 1)
TBD vs. TBD (semifinal 2)
TBD vs. TBD (championship)		 Chase Center[25][13] San Francisco, California
2026 West vs. East Intuit Dome[26] Inglewood, California (3)
2027 West vs. East Footprint Center (3)[27] Phoenix, Arizona (4)
Notes

Other All-Star events

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Main article: NBA All-Star Weekend

The All-Star Game is the featured event of All-Star Weekend, and it is held on a Sunday night. All-Star Weekend also features popular exhibition games and competitions featuring NBA players, celebrities, and alumni as well as players from the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA G League (G League).

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Slam Dunk Contest, among other side events, took place at Market Square Arena.
  2. ^ The Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest, among other side events, took place at Seattle Center Coliseum.
  3. ^ The Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest, among other side events, took place at The Summit.
  4. ^ The Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers jointly hosted the event.
  5. ^ The Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest, among other side events, took place at American Airlines Center.
  6. ^ The Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers jointly hosted the event.
  7. ^ The Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest, among other side events, took place at Barclays Center. The Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks jointly hosted the event.
  8. ^ The Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers jointly hosted the event.
  9. ^ The Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest, among other side events, took place at Lucas Oil Stadium.
  10. ^ Although Brooklyn has not hosted an All-Star Game (Barclays Center did host the Rising Stars Challenge and All-Star Saturday events in 2015), New York City has hosted at the third and current Madison Square Gardens, both home to the New York Knicks.
  11. ^ Although San Francisco has not hosted an All-Star Game, Daly City and Oakland each hosted, both previous homes to the Golden State Warriors.

References

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  1. ^ a b "How NBA's new voting format determined All-Star starters, snubs". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  2. ^ a b "Anthony snubbed when All-Star reserves announced". espn.com. Associated Press. February 1, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  3. ^ Barnewall, Chris. "NBA All-Star Game draft results: LeBron James, Stephen Curry select their teams". CBS Sports. CBS. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  4. ^ Smith, Sekou (February 11, 2019). "All-Star Draft filled with surprises and even one trade". NBA.
  5. ^ a b c "No more East vs. West as NBA revamps All-Star Game format". NBA.com. October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Richard (July 3, 2000). "Haskell Cohen, 86, Publicist; Created N.B.A. All-Star Game". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  7. ^ Forrester, Paul (February 16, 2007). "That's entertainment; Counting down the top 15 All-Star Weekend moments". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  8. ^ Penikis, Andrejs. "57 Memorable All-Star Moments–1950s". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  9. ^ MacMahon, Tim (4 February 2010). "Jones, Cuban hoping to break 100,000". ESPNDallas.com.
  10. ^ "NBA Mailbag: Submit your questions for Candace Parker". NBA.com.
  11. ^ "New NBA All-Star Game format makes every quarter count for Chicago charities". NBA.com. January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  12. ^ "Classic format returns for 2024 NBA All-Star Game". NBA.com. October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "NBA and NBPA announce new format for 2025 NBA All-Star Game". NBA.com. December 17, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Players and media can now vote on NBA All-Star starters". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  15. ^ Beck, Howard (October 24, 2012). "The All-Star Center is Officially Extinct". New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2012. The N.B.A., bowing to new realities in a multi-positional era, has eliminated "center" from its All-Star ballots for the 2012–13 season. Instead, fans will vote for three frontcourt players and two guards.
  16. ^ Vecsey, George (January 12, 2003). "Fans in Shanghai Are Voting in the Mainstream". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Stein, Marc (January 18, 2013). "1. Reserve Judgment: Stein's All-Star Benches". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013.
  18. ^ "DeMarcus Cousins to replace Kobe Bryant in 2015 NBA All-Star Game" (Press release). NBA. January 30, 2015. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015.
  19. ^ "Warriors have four All-Stars for second consecutive season". NBC Sports. January 24, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  20. ^ Medina, Mark (January 23, 2018). "Klay Thompson, Draymond Green among reserves for 2018 NBA All-Star game". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  21. ^ Steele, David (December 9, 1998). "NBA Drops All-Stars — What's Left? February game in Philly latest casualty of lockout". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  22. ^ "Cleveland to host NBA All-Star 2022". NBA.com. November 1, 2018.
  23. ^ "Utah Jazz to host NBA All-Star 2023". NBA.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  24. ^ a b "NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee Unveils Lucas Oil Stadium as Multi-Purpose Venue for NBA All-Star 2024". www.nba.com. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  25. ^ "Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Bay Area Selected to Host NBA All-Star 2025". NBA.com. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  26. ^ "Los Angeles and LA Clippers to host NBA All-Star 2026". NBA.com. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  27. ^ "Phoenix Suns to host NBA All-Star 2027". NBA.com. March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
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