NBA All-Star Game

The National Basketball Association All-Star Game was first staged at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. From that year on, the NBA has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference against the best players in the Western Conference.

The participants are currently chosen in two ways. The first is via fan ballot, with the leading vote recipients at each position starting the game; secondly the reserves are chosen by a vote among the head coaches of each squad's particular conference.[1] Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. If a player is injured and cannot participate, the commissioner will select a replacement.

The coach of the team with the best record in each conference on January 31 is chosen as the coach of the respective conference in the All-Star Game. However, regardless of record, a coach cannot be made an All-Star in two consecutive seasons.[1] This is the so-called "Riley Rule" so named because coach Pat Riley's Lakers teams of the 1980s won so often that he coached the Western Conference team eight times in nine seasons from 1982 to 1990. In the event that a coach's team repeats as the best record holder the coach from the team with the second best record will serve as All-Star coach for that conference.

Contents

Features of the All-Star Game

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. 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. 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. 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 Elton John, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, OutKast, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Little Ozzy, Shakira, John Legend and Rihanna.

All-Star Game results

The Eastern Conference All-Stars lead the all-time series 36–24.

Year Result Host arena Host123 city Game MVP
1951 East 111 - West 94 Boston Garden Boston, MA Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics
1952 East 108 - West 91 Boston Garden Boston, MA 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 New York, NY Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
1955 East 100, West 91 Madison Square Garden New York, NY 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 Boston, MA 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 St. Louis, MO 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 Boston, MA Oscar Robertson (2), Cincinnati Royals
1965 East 124, West 123 St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO 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 New York, NY 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 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 Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, AZ Walt Frazier, New York Knicks
1976 East 123, West 109 The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA 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 Inglewood, CA 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† Tom Chambers, Seattle SuperSonics
1988 East 138, West 133 Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 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 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, NY Michael Jordan (3), Chicago Bulls
1999 Canceled due to the league's lockout
Game was originally set to play at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2]
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, D.C. Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
2002 West 135, East 120 First Union Center Philadelphia, PA Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2003 West 155, East 145 (2OT) Philips Arena Atlanta, GA Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
2004 West 136, East 132 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA Shaquille O'Neal (2), Los Angeles Lakers
2005 East 125, West 115 Pepsi Center Denver, CO Allen Iverson (2), Philadelphia 76ers
2006 East 122, West 120 Toyota Center Houston, TX 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 Phoenix, AZ 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 Los Angeles, CA Kobe Bryant (4), Los Angeles Lakers
2012 East vs. West Amway Center Orlando, FL TBD
2013 West vs. East Toyota Center Houston, TX TBD
2014 East vs. West Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON TBD

Note

Other All-Star events

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 featuring NBA players and alumni as well as players from the WNBA and D-League.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Anthony snubbed when All-Star reserves announced". Associated Press. espn.com. February 1, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2751331&type=story. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  2. ^ Steele, David (December 9, 1998). "NBA Drops All-Stars — What's Left? February game in Philly latest casualty of lockout". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/12/09/SP102770.DTL. Retrieved December 17, 2008. 

External links