NBA All-Star Game

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The NBA All-Star Game is an exhibition game hosted annually by the National Basketball Association (NBA), matching the league's star players from the Eastern Conference against their counterparts from the Western Conference. Each conference consists of 15 players each, making it 30 in total. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend. NBA All-Star Weekend is a three-day event which goes from Friday to Sunday. The All-Star game was first staged at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951.

The starting lineup for each squad is selected by a fan ballot, while the reserves are chosen by a vote among the head coaches from each squad's respective conference.[1] Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. If a selected player is injured and cannot participate, the NBA commissioner selects a replacement.

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 repeat appearances.[1] 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 serves instead.

History

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 stunned by the college basketball point-shaving scandal.

In order to regain public attention to the league, Cohen suggested the league to host an exhibition game featuring the league's best players, similar to the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.[2] Although most people, including Podoloff, were pessimistic about the idea, Brown remained confident that it would be a success, and he even offered to host the game and to cover all the expenses or potential losses incurred from the game.[3] In the first All-Star Game, 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.[4] In 2010, the NBA All Star Game attendance record was set when 108,713 fans jammed Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This shattered the existing attendance record previously held at Ford Field on Dec. 13, 2003 when 78,129 attendees watched Michigan State play Duke.[5]

Features of the All-Star Game

Fans vote on the starters for the game, selecting three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference. Prior to 2013, fans selected two forwards and one center instead of generic frontcourt players.[6] The NBA in 2003 began offering All-Star ballots in three languages—English, Spanish and Chinese—for fan voting of the starters.[7]

NBA coaches vote for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which can be players on 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.[8] 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 coach chooses the replacement in the starting lineup, and is not limited to the commissioner's addition to the roster.[9] It is also possible for more than one All-Star to be selected from one team, but there has never been more than 4 All-Stars represent a team in the game. Most recently was the 2015 Atlanta Hawks who had 4 players represent that team who were Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford. This feature has been only done 8 times dating back to 1962 Boston Celtics and the 1962 Los Angeles Lakers.[10]

The Game is played under normal NBA rules, but there are notable differences from an average game. Since the starting All-Stars are selected by fan vote, players sometimes start the game at atypical positions. For instance, in 2007 Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady had the two highest fan vote totals among Western Conference guards. As both players normally play shooting guard, Bryant, who is 6'6" (198 cm), started the game as a point guard, despite him also manning the shooting guard position on his team.

The player introductions are usually accompanied by a significant amount of fanfare, including lighting effects, dance music, and pyrotechnics. Special uniforms are designed for the game each year, usually red for the Western Conference and blue for the Eastern Conference, but the 1997–2002 games allowed players the opportunity to wear their respective team uniforms, and until 2009 and from 2015–present, the host conference wore light uniforms. Originally players from the same team who share a number have the option to either keep or change numbers (e.g. Patrick Ewing trading his familiar #33 for #3 because of Larry Bird wearing the same number), but since 1997 players from the same team can keep their customary uniform numbers even if they share them. A major recording artist typically sings "O Canada" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to tipoff. One of the more memorable performances was given by Marvin Gaye during the 1983 game; Gaye was accompanied by Gordon Banks, who played a tape from an all night session that used numerous elements of soul music and funk, and Banks still has that historic tape of the music to which Gaye sang his soulful version.

Gameplay usually involves players attempting spectacular slam dunks and alley oops. Defensive effort is usually limited and the final score of the game is generally much higher than an average NBA game. The coaches also try to give most of the reserve players some time on the court instead of using a limited rotation as they would in a normal game, but giving the starters more minutes because that's who the fans want to see most. The fourth quarter of the game is often played in a more competitive fashion, if the game is close.

Halftime is also longer than a typical NBA game due to musical performances by popular artists. Recent guests have included Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Snoop Lion, Ariana Grande, Elton John, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, OutKast, Alicia Keys, Shakira, John Legend, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Christina Aguilera.

All-Star Game records

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Main article: NBA All-Star Game records

All-Star Game results

This is a 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 2015 All-Star Game (the 2014/15 NBA season), the Eastern Conference leads with a record of 37 wins and 27 losses.

Note: Stadium names are named based on the name at the day of the All-Star Game.

Year Result Host arena Host city Game MVP
1951 East 111, West 94 Boston Garden Boston, MA Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics
1952 East 108, West 91 Boston Garden (2) Boston, MA (2) Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
1953 West 79, East 75 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, IN George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1954 East 98, West 93 (OT) Madison Square Garden (1925)** New York City, NY Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
1955 East 100, West 91 Madison Square Garden (1925)** (2) New York City, NY (2) Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
1956 West 108, East 94 Rochester War Memorial Coliseum Rochester, NY Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
1957 East 109, West 97 Boston Garden (3) Boston, MA (3) Bob Cousy (2), Boston Celtics
1958 East 130, West 118 St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO Bob Pettit (2), St. Louis Hawks
1959 West 124, East 108 Olympia Stadium Detroit, MI Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis Lakers
Bob Pettit (3), St. Louis Hawks
1960 East 125, West 115 Convention Hall Philadelphia, PA Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
1961 West 153, East 131 Onondaga County War Memorial Coliseum Syracuse, NY Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
1962 West 150, East 130 St. Louis Arena (2) St. Louis, MO (2) Bob Pettit (4), St. Louis Hawks
1963 East 115, West 108 LA Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
1964 East 111, West 107 Boston Garden (4) Boston, MA (4) Oscar Robertson (2), Cincinnati Royals
1965 East 124, West 123 St. Louis Arena (3) St. Louis, MO (3) Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati Royals
1966 East 137, West 94 Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH Adrian Smith, Cincinnati Royals
1967 West 135, East 120 Cow Palace Daly City, CA Rick Barry, San Francisco Warriors
1968 East 144, West 124 Madison Square Garden (1925)** (3) New York City, NY (3) Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers
1969 East 123, West 112 Baltimore Civic Center Baltimore, MD Oscar Robertson (3), Cincinnati Royals
1970 East 142, West 135 The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA (2) Willis Reed, New York Knicks
1971 West 108, East 107 San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, CA Lenny Wilkens, Seattle SuperSonics
1972 West 112, East 110 The Forum Inglewood, CA Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
1973 East 104, West 84 Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
1974 West 134, East 123 Seattle Center Coliseum Seattle, WA Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons
1975 East 108, West 102 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, AZ Walt Frazier, New York Knicks
1976 East 123, West 109 The Spectrum (2) Philadelphia, PA (3) Dave Bing, Washington Bullets
1977 West 125, East 124 Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee, WI Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
1978 East 133, West 125 Omni Coliseum Atlanta, GA Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves
1979 West 134, East 129 Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI† David Thompson, Denver Nuggets
1980 East 144, West 136 (OT) Capital Centre Landover, MD George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
1981 East 123, West 120 Coliseum at Richfield Richfield, OH Nate Archibald, Boston Celtics
1982 East 120, West 118 Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
1983 East 132, West 123 The Forum (2) Inglewood, CA (2) Julius Erving (2), Philadelphia 76ers
1984 East 154, West 145 (OT) McNichols Sports Arena Denver, CO Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
1985 West 140, East 129 Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, IN† Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
1986 East 139, West 132 Reunion Arena Dallas, TX Isiah Thomas (2), Detroit Pistons
1987 West 154, East 149 (OT) Kingdome Seattle, WA† (2) Tom Chambers, Seattle SuperSonics
1988 East 138, West 133 Chicago Stadium (2) Chicago, IL (2) Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
1989 West 143, East 134 Astrodome Houston, TX† Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
1990 East 130, West 113 Miami Arena Miami, FL Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1991 East 116, West 114 Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers
1992 West 153, East 113 Orlando Arena Orlando, FL Magic Johnson (2), Los Angeles Lakers
1993 West 135, East 132 (OT) Delta Center Salt Lake City, UT Karl Malone (2), Utah Jazz
John Stockton, Utah Jazz
1994 East 127, West 118 Target Center Minneapolis, MN Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls
1995 West 139, East 112 America West Arena Phoenix, AZ (2) Mitch Richmond, Sacramento Kings
1996 East 129, West 118 Alamodome San Antonio, TX Michael Jordan (2), Chicago Bulls
1997 East 132, West 120 Gund Arena Cleveland, OH Glen Rice, Charlotte Hornets
1998 East 135, West 114 Madison Square Garden*** New York City, NY (4) Michael Jordan (3), Chicago Bulls
1999 Canceled due to the league's lockout.
The game was originally set to play at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[11]
2000 West 137, East 126 The Arena in Oakland Oakland, CA Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
2001 East 111, West 110 MCI Center Washington, DC Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
2002 West 135, East 120 First Union Center Philadelphia, PA (4) Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2003 West 155, East 145 (2 OT) Philips Arena Atlanta, GA (2) Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
2004 West 136, East 132 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA (2) Shaquille O'Neal (2), Los Angeles Lakers
2005 East 125, West 115 Pepsi Center Denver, CO (2) Allen Iverson (2), Philadelphia 76ers
2006 East 122, West 120 Toyota Center Houston, TX (2) LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2007 West 153, East 132 Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV* Kobe Bryant (2), Los Angeles Lakers
2008 East 134, West 128 New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA LeBron James (2), Cleveland Cavaliers
2009 West 146, East 119 US Airways Center (2) Phoenix, AZ (3) Kobe Bryant (3), Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal (3), Phoenix Suns
2010 East 141, West 139 Cowboys Stadium Arlington, TX#† Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
2011 West 148, East 143 Staples Center (2) Los Angeles, CA (3) Kobe Bryant (4), Los Angeles Lakers
2012 West 152, East 149 Amway Center Orlando, FL (2) Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
2013 West 143, East 138 Toyota Center (2) Houston, TX (3) Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
2014 East 163, West 155 Smoothie King Center (2) New Orleans, LA (2) Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
2015 West 163, East 158 Madison Square Garden*** (2) New York City, NY (5) Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
2016 West vs. East Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON[12]
2017 West vs. East Time Warner Cable Arena Charlotte, NC (2)[13][14]
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 includes a number of popular exhibition games and competitions featured NBA players and alumni as well as players from the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA Development League (D-League).

See also

Portal icon National Basketball Association portal

Notes

  1. ↑ Although Brooklyn has not hosted an All-Star Game, New York City has been a host at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks' home, and Toronto will host in 2016.

References

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  12. ↑ http://www.torontosun.com/2013/09/24/toronto-to-host-2016-nba-all-star-game
  13. ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article25152058.html
  14. ↑ http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/22/report-charlotte-gets-2017-nba-all-star-game/

External links

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