Every season in February, the NBA holds its All Star Weekend extravaganza, which features an assortment of events, competitions and is topped off by the All Star Game itself. The NBA All Star game is a time-honored tradition that was begun in 1951 in Boston, MA.
All Star Weekend Events
Slam Dunk Contest -highlights the game's best dunkers in a competition that measures the athleticism, difficulty and creativity of each dunk. Read more about the NBA Slam Dunk Competition.
Three-Point Shooting Contest - a competition that faces off the league's top perimeter shooters in a contest that tests who can hit the most threes within a minute. Read more about the NBA Three-Point Shooting Contest.
NBA Rookie Challenge - started in 2000 and features the top rookies and second-year players not to be named to the All Star teams. In this game, the rookie team faces off against the second-year player team. The rookie team has only won twice out of eight games and the sophomore team won last season 155-114, setting a record for the most points by a team in the Rookie Challenge.
NBA Skills Challenge - some of the league's best players in terms of floor game face off in this obstacle course and compete for the best time. Players must weave through obstacles while dribbling, show from designated spots on the floor, and complete effective passes of different types to designated spots. Here's a look at the past winners of the NBA Skills Challenge:
- 2003 Winner: Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets
- 2004 Winner: Baron Davis, New Orleans Hornets
- 2005 Winner: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
- 2006 Winner: Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
- 2007 Winner: Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
NBA All Star Shooting Stars - This is a relatively new competition in All Star Weekend. Its inception was 2005. For this contest, there are six spots on the floor players are able to shoot from. Each team includes one current NBA player, a current WNBA player and a former player (aka an "NBA Legend") who represent the same NBA city. The players must hit shots in a specific order and must do it under two minutes. Here are the year-by-year champions of the NBA All Star Shooting Stars Contest:
- 2005 Winner: Phoenix - Shawn Marion, Diana Taurasi, Dan Majerle
- 2006 Winner: San Antonio - Tony Parker, Kendra Wecker, Steve Kerr
- 2007 Winner: Detroit: Chauncey Billups, Swin Cash, Bill Laimbeer
NBA Legends Game - From 1984 to 1993, All Star weekend included a game with some of the top retired players. The game was a fun mix of younger, more recently retired stars and older, white-haired stars. The game was popular, but the league decided to replace it with the Rookie Challenge because so many players were getting injured.
NBA 2ball Competition - This game replaced the Slam Dunk Contest in 1998 and featured an NBA player and WNBA player of the same city's team. It was similar to the NBA All Star Shooting Stars Contest, but was left out when the Dunk Contest was brought back. It only lasted a few years.
Hoop it Up Contest - This competition featured four teams. Each team included one NBA player, one WNBA player, one NBA legend and one celebrity. It was a 3-on-3 half court, single elimination tournament, but only lasted from 2002 to 2003.
NBA All Star Game
The All Star Game is the main event and occurs on Sunday, the day after most of the other events/contests take place. The Western and Eastern Conference starters are selected by the fans, while the reserves are selected by the coaches.
Here's a look at the All Star Game MVPs year-by-year from 2000 to 2007:
- 2000 co-MVPs - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs, and Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2001 MVP: Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
- 2002 MVP: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2003 MVP: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2004 MVP: Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2005 MVP: Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
- 2006 MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2007 MVP: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
In 56 years, the Eastern Conference has beaten the Western Conference 34 times, while the West has won only 22 times. Here are some NBA All Star game records:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for the most All Star Games played with 18.
- Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most points in an All Star Game with 42.
- Glen Rice holds the record for the most points in an All Star Game half with 24, as well as in a quarter with 20.
- Michael Jordan holds the record for the most total All Star Game points for his career with 262.
- Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most total All Star Game rebounds for his career with 197.
- Bob Pettit holds the record for the most rebounds in an All Star Game with 27.
- Magic Johnson holds the record for the most total All Star Game assists for his career with 127.
- Magic Johnson holds the record for the most assists in an All Star Game with 22.
- The Western Conference holds the record for the most points by a team with 155 in double overtime in 2003.
- The Western Conference holds the record for the most points by a team in a half with 87 in 1989.
Also check out:
- NBA Slam Dunk Competition
- NBA Three-Point Shooting Contest
- The 2008 Should Be NBA All Stars
- 2007 NBA All Star Game a Letdown
- NBA All Star Game Needs Repair
Sources consulted:
- "NBA All Star Game and Event History", About.com, Accessed on 25 January, 2008.
- "All Star NBA", AllStarNBA.es, Accessed on 25 January, 2008.
- "NBA All Star History", NBA.com Encyclopedia Playoff Edition, Accessed on 25 January, 2008.
