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| Date | February 15, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Venue | US Airways Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| City |  Phoenix, Arizona
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| MVP | Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal (Co-MVPs) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Tamia (Canadian) Jordin Sparks (American) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Half time show | John Legend, Juanes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 16,382 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | TNT and TSN | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Marv Albert, Doug Collins, and Reggie Miller (All-Star Game) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Mike Fratello and Kenny Smith (All-Star Saturday Night) Kevin Harlan and Kenny Smith (Rookie Challenge) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA All-Star Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| <- 2008 NBA All-Star Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 NBA All-Star Game -> | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2009 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2009, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2008–09 season. It was the 58th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Phoenix Suns. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 146–119. The West's Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were named joint winners of the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award. This was the third time that Phoenix had hosted the All-Star Game; the city had previously hosted the event in 1975 and 1995. Phoenix was awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on November 8, 2007. The other reported contenders for the 2009 contest were Air Canada Centre at Toronto, Madison Square Garden at New York City, Oracle Arena at Oakland, and Bradley Center at Milwaukee.
The All-Star Weekend began on Friday, February 13, 2009 with the Celebrity Game and the Rookie Challenge, a game between the league's best rookies and second-year players. On Saturday, the event continued with the All-Star Saturday Night, which featured the Shooting Stars Competition, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest. The H–O–R–S–E Competition was first introduced and was played before the All-Star Saturday Night. The third D-League All-Star Game and the second D-League Dream Factory Friday Night, the latter of which was modeled after the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, also took place during the All-Star Weekend. The D-League Dream Factory Friday Night was held on Friday and the D-League All-Star Game was held on Saturday.
In the Rookie Challenge, the Sophomores defeated the Rookies, with Sophomores' Kevin Durant named as the game MVP. In the All-Star Saturday Night events, Nate Robinson won his second Slam Dunk Contest while Daequan Cook and Derrick Rose won the Three-Point Shootout and Skills Challenge respectively. Team Detroit won their second Shootings Stars Competition, beating the home team, Team Phoenix in the final round. Durant also took home another trophy by winning the inaugural H–O–R–S–E Competition.
All-Star Game[]
Coaches[]
The coaches for the All-Star Game are the head coaches who currently lead the teams with the best winning percentage in their conference through the Sunday two weeks before the All-Star Game. The head coaches from the previous year, Doc Rivers and Byron Scott were not eligible for selection.
The coach for the Western Conference team was Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. This was the fourth time that Jackson was selected to be an All-Star coach, after previously selected in 1992, 1996, and 2000. The Lakers entered the All-Star break with 42–10 record, the best winning percentage in the Western Conference and in the league.
The coach for the Eastern Conference team was Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown. This was the first time that Brown was selected to be an All-Star coach. He became only the second Cavaliers coach to lead an All-Star team, after Lenny Wilkens in 1989. The Cavaliers entered the All-Star break with 40–11 record, the second best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference, behind Doc Rivers' Boston Celtics.
Players[]
The rosters for the All-Star Game is chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two Guards, two Forwards, and one Center who receive the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. The reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences. The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The reserves consists of two Guards, two Forwards, one Center, and two players regardless of position. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.
Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic topped the All-Star Ballots with 3,150,181 votes, which earned him a starting position in the Eastern Conference team. He became the first player to get more than 3 million votes from the fans. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, and Allen Iverson completed the Eastern Conference starting position. The Eastern Conference reserves includes 4 first-time selections, Danny Granger, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, and Mo Williams, who was named as a replacement for the injured Chris Bosh. Jameer Nelson was unable to participate due to injury and Ray Allen was named to replace him. Both Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic were represented by three players on the roster.
The Western Conference leading vote-getter was Kobe Bryant with 2,805,397 votes. Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Chris Paul completed the Western Conference starting position. The Western Conference roster includes five international players in Yao Ming (China), Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Pau Gasol (Spain), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), and Tony Parker (France). Shaquille O'Neal returned to the All-Star Game after a one-year absence with his 15th selection, the second most selections in NBA history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 19 All-Star selections. This also marked the first time that O'Neal and Bryant were in the same team since their much publicized feud. Bryant and O'Neal also reunited with coach Phil Jackson. The three of them won three successive NBA championships together with the Los Angeles Lakers in early 2000s. Four teams, Lakers, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Hornets, and San Antonio Spurs, had two representations at the All-Star Game with Bryant/Gasol, Stoudemire/O'Neal, Paul/West, and Duncan/Parker.
Roster[]
| Eastern Conference | |||||
| Starters | |||||
| Pos | Number | Player (Team) | Ht | Wt | Years pro |
| PG | 1 | Allen Iverson (Detroit Pistons) | 6 ft 0 | 180 lbs | 13 |
| SG | 3 | Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat) | 6 ft 4 | 216 lbs | 6 |
| SF | 23 | LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) | 6 ft 8 | 250 lbs | 6 |
| PF | 5 | Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics) | 6 ft 11 | 220 lbs | 14 |