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The 2017 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center. It was the 66th edition of the event. The West won the game 192-182. The MVP of the game was Anthony Davis, who scored 52 points, the most ever scored by a player in an All-Star Game. It was initially planned to be held at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, home of the Charlotte Hornets. If the game had remained in Charlotte, it would have been the second time that Charlotte hosted the All-Star Game. The city previously hosted in 1991 at the now-demolished Charlotte Coliseum.
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On August 19, 2016, the NBA chose the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the New Orleans Pelicans to host the All-Star Game, after it was pulled out of Charlotte because of the controversy surrounding North Carolina's "bathroom bill", better known as HB2. The 2017 NBA All-Star Game is the first major sporting event in the United States to be relocated for political reasons since 1990. In that instance, the National Football League (NFL) relocated Super Bowl XXVII out of Tempe, Arizona, because the state did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. TNT and TBS televised the game.
HB2 and relocation
HB2 became law in late March 2016. It bans, among other things, NC city governments from passing ordinances that protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination. Charlotte already passed such an ordinance in February 2016. However, when HB2 went into effect, it terminated said ordinance. Charlotte, as a result, currently does not have any anti-discrimination protection in place. Talks about the NBA pulling the game from Charlotte began to rise.
Factors into this relocation threat was that out of all major professional sports leagues, the NBA reportedly has the largest LGBT fanbase. Another was that the NBA fanbase skewed much younger on average, and younger Americans are more supportive of LGBT rights.
In the following days, Dallas and especially Atlanta both suggested they could host the All-Star Game if the NBA removed it. Atlanta made their public suggestion to the NBA less than a week after HB2 passed, mentioning it had vetoed a similar bill and had success with hosting other major events of a similar size. In response, however, the NBA stuck with Charlotte for the meantime. On April 5, NBA analyst and former player Charles Barkley voiced his support to move the All-Star Game. He joined other newspaper journalists, including journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post, who advised the NBA to do the same when HB2 was first announced.
On April 10, a group of six US Senators wrote to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, telling him to move the game in response to HB2. Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy also spoke out in favor of moving the game. NBA team owners were expected to have an update on the situation at the annual NBA Board of Governors meetings. Two days later an Oakland city council member announced her intention for Oakland to host, again using HB2 as the primary reason for moving the game.
During the Board of Governors meetings, the NBA announced they did not have any plans to remove the game from Charlotte and did not vote to do so; however, Silver said HB2 remained a problem and, according to an official press release, was also concerned about Charlotte's capability to host the game because of HB2. Silver next spoke about the issue on April 21 at the Associated Press Sports Editors commissioner meetings and on ESPN's Mike and Mike morning radio show. During both appearances he stated the NBA would rather work with the state and city governments to help change the law instead of issuing a definitive statement. However, he also made clear the game would move if HB2 wasn't changed.
On June 2, Silver met with reporters to discuss the future of the All-Star Game, stating the league was "looking at alternatives"; however, he went on to say, "...it [would not be] productive to draw a line in the sand, and we'd be moving on if I didn't think there were constructive discussions going on in North Carolina right now." Six days later, Barkley again spoke out on the subject, merely repeating his earlier message that the game should be moved. On July 12, The Associated Press reported that several well-known technology companies had written a letter to Silver telling him to move the game, using HB2 as their main reason for doing so. Silver gave an update later that day during a league conference in Las Vegas, again saying no vote had been taken on whether to move the game. However, he did say, "...the calendar is not our friend." Silver also said the final decision on the game's location would be made by summer's end.
On July 21, The Vertical reported that the 2017 NBA All-Star Game would be pulled from Charlotte, a search for a new host city was underway, and New Orleans was the frontrunner to replace it. New Orleans previously hosted the All-Star Game in 2008 and 2014. The same day, the NBA confirmed these rumors to be true with a press release, saying they hope to award Charlotte the game in 2019. On August 19, the NBA selected New Orleans as the new location to host the All-Star Game.
Ticket prices plunged ahead of the All-Star weekend. According to data compiled by resale ticket market research firm TicketIQ, the price of the cheapest ticket available on the resale market two days before the game was down 71% from the previous All-Star Game in Toronto. The Family Research Council speculated that the drop in prices was due to fans becoming "tired of the league's political agenda."
Coaches
The Golden State Warriors had the best record in the Western Conference, therefore making Steve Kerr the Western Conference head coach. Brad Stevens, coach of the Boston Celtics, will be the head coach for the Eastern Conference team. While the Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers coach, Tyronn Lue, is ineligible to coach in the All-Star Game in 2017, since he was the coach in 2016. This means that the coach of the team with the second best record in the East gets the honor, which this year belongs to the Celtics.
Rosters
The rosters for the All-Star Game are selected through a voting process. The starters for the first time are chosen by not only the fans, but also by the media and current NBA players. Fans make up 50% of the vote, and NBA players and media each comprise 25% of the vote. The two guards and three frontcourt players who receive the highest cumulative vote totals are named the All-Star starters. NBA head 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 was "most advantageous for the All-Star team," regardless of where the player was listed on the All-Star ballot or the position he was listed in box scores.
The All-Star Game starters were announced on January 19, 2017. Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors were named the backcourt starters in the East, earning their fourth and third all-star appearances, respectively. LeBron James was named a starter to his 13th career all-star game, tying Dirk Nowitzki for most selections among active players. Joining James in the East frontcourt was Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls, his third consecutive selection, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, his first all-star selection in his young career, and the first Buck to be named an all-star since Michael Redd in 2004. Giannis became the first Greek basketball player to participate in the all-star game.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and James Harden of the Houston Rockets were named to the starting backcourt in the West, earning their fourth and fifth all-star appearances, respectively. In the frontcourt, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors was named to his eighth career all-star game, along with Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, their second and fourth all-star selections, respectively.
The All-Star Game reserves were announced on January 26, 2017. The West reserves include Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings, Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz. Jordan and Hayward were selected as all-stars for the first time in their respective careers.
The East reserves include Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks, and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, who was selected as an all-star for the first time in his career. Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks was named as a replacement for Kevin Love due to Love suffering a knee injury.
Celebrity Game
The 2017 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was played on Friday, February 17, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The game was a matchup of Team East vs. Team West, coached by ESPN SportsCenter hosts Michael Smith and Jemele Hill, respectively. The game featured 23 players, including actors Ansel Elgort, Caleb McLaughlin, & Romeo Miller, and TV host Nick Cannon. The game also includes two NBA legends, Jason Williams, and Baron Davis, as well as Lindsay Whalen and Candace Parker of the WNBA.
The game ended up being the second most lopsided game in Celebrity Game history to date. The East Team's 88 points were the most ever scored by one team, and their 29-point margin of victory was the second largest ever. Even though last year's MVP and the East Team player Win Bulter scored 22 points and 11 rebounds, his teammate Brandon Armstrong won the 2017 All-Star Celebrity Game MVP award with 16 points and 15 rebounds.