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NBA All-Star Game
Type Exhibition game
League NBA
Frequency Annual
Inaugurated 1951
Most recent 2024 (Indiana)
Previous 2023 (Utah)
Next event 2025 (Golden State)
Series NBA All-Star Weekend
Inaguration 1951
Participants Eastern Conference All-Stars
Western Conference All-Stars
Most wins Eastern Conference (38 wins)
Recent winner Eastern Conference (2024)

The National Basketball Association staged its first All-Star Game in the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. From that year on, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference with 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 coaches who currently lead the teams with the most wins in their conference through the Sunday two weeks before the game coach their respective conferences. However, the same coach cannot coach the team in 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 nearly every season in the 1980s. 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.

Features of the All-Star Game[]

The All-Star 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, a position usually manned by a much smaller player.

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 game allowed players wearing their respective team uniforms. A major recording artist typically sings "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 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 various artists such as Elton John, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, OutKast, and most recently Dr. John.

Results[]

The Eastern Conference All-Stars lead the all-time series 38–29.

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 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 130 (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 (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, DC 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 West 152, East 149 Amway Center Orlando, FL Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
2013 West 143, East 138 Toyota Center (2) Houston, TX 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 Barclays Center New York City, NY (5) Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
2016 West 196, East 173 Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario, CA Russell Westbrook (2), Oklahoma City Thunder
2017 West 192, East 182 Smoothie King Center (3) New Orleans, LA (3) Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
2018 Team LeBron 148, Team Stephen 145 Staples Center (3) Los Angeles, CA (4) LeBron James (3), Cleveland Cavaliers
2019 Team LeBron 178, Team Giannis 164 Spectrum Center Charlotte, NC (2) Kevin Durant (2), Golden State Warriors
2020 Team LeBron 157, Team Giannis 155 United Center Chicago, IL (3) Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
2021 Team LeBron 170, Team Durant 150 State Farm Arena (Atlanta) Atlanta, GA (3) Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2022 Team LeBron 163, Team Durant 160 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH (2) Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2023 Team Giannis 184, Team LeBron 175 Vivint Smart Home Arena Salt Lake City, UT (2) Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
2024 East 211, West 186 Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN (2) Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
2025 West vs. East Chase Center San Francisco, CA
2026 West vs. East Intuit Dome Inglewood, CA (3)
Note
  • * denotes a city without an NBA team in play during that calendar year.
  • # denotes an NBA All-Star game that is held at an NFL stadium.
  • 1 See NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award for more information
  • Memphis, Portland, Sacramento, Oklahoma City, and Toronto are the only current NBA cities that have not yet hosted an NBA All-Star Game.

Other All-Star events[]

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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. 1.0 1.1 espn.com, Anthony snubbed when All-Star reserves announced (AP report), accessed February 2, 2007
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