Take a look back at the five best NBA All-Star Games in history.
It’s amazing how the NBA All-Star Game has evolved. Played for the first time in 1951 as a way to try and get basketball back on track following the point-shaving scandal in the college game, it has grown to become arguably the highest-profile All-Star event in sports. While the games themselves haven’t always been close or competitive, as they are obviously designed as a showcase and an exhibition, these guys still don’t like to lose and there have been plenty great games throughout the years.
Here’s a look back at five of the best NBA All-Star Games in history.
5. 1970
The great thing about the 1970 NBA All-Star Game was the great mix of two generations, which I suppose happens at a lot of these games. This one was just a little more special. Some of the most iconic names in NBA history such as Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson were nearing the end of their careers while guys like Walt Frazier, Elvin Hayes and a rookie named Lew Alcindor were making names for themselves as professionals. And the stars shone brightly in this game.
Played at the Philadelphia Spectrum, this game saw Oscar Robertson shoot 9-for-11 from the floor and score 21 points to go with 6 boards and 4 assists. Alcindor, who wouldn’t become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for more than another year, came of the bench and posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in his All-Star Game debut.
Elgin Baylor would score just 9 points in his final All-Star Game but his Lakers teammate Jerry West picked up the slack with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Elvin Hayes, making the second of his 12 All-Star appearances, led the West with 24 points.
The Eastern Conference led pretty much throughout and fought off a fourth-quarter barrage from the West, who scored 50 points in the final frame, to come out with a 142-135 victory. But with all of the big names and performances in this game, it was the New York Knicks’ Willis Reed, who scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, who would walk away with the MVP. Reed would also go on to win the league MVP and NBA Finals MVP that year.
4. 1993
The 1993 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City often gets overlooked in some of these conversations but this was a very entertaining basketball game that featured so many of the game’s all-time greats right in their prime. It was also the first All-Star appearance for some guy named Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaq was the starting center for the East and was joined by another first-timer, Larry Johnson, as well Isiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. On the bench were guys like Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing and Joe Dumars. The West countered with a starting five of David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone and John Stockton, every one of whom was a member of the previous summer’s Dream Team at the Barcelona Olympics. In fact, eight of the 12 members of that team were in this game and it would have been nine had Chris Mullin not been out with an injury. Magic and Bird were both retired by this point and Christian Laettner wasn’t at this level. That’s some star power right there. Hakeem Olajuwon even had to come off the bench for the West.
The game itself was very competitive. The West led 27-26 after the first and took a five-point lead into the half before the East got it down to two at the end of the third, then outscored the West 35-33 in the final period to take the game to overtime. The West came out on top by a final score of 135-132 and co-MVP awards were handed out to Utah’s own Karl Malone and John Stockton, which made for a nice story. And it’s not as if they didn’t deserve it. Malone scored a team-high 28 points on 11-for-17 shooting while also pulling down 10 rebounds and Stockton had 15 assists. Michael Jordan led the East with 30 points, the weekend’s 3-point champ Mark Price came off the bench with 19 and Shaq scored 14 in his debut. The only player to go scoreless in this game was first-timer Shawn Kemp, who played just nine minutes in the first of his six All-Star Game appearances.
3. 2010
A record crowd of nearly 109,000 people showed up for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game at the home of the Dallas Cowboys and they certainly didn’t leave disappointed, even though a few of the big stars were out with injury. The leading vote-getter for the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Paul were both out, as was Allen Iverson, who had been voted in as a starter after returning to the 76ers. But the players that were there made the most of their time and put on a great show for the big crowd. The game also served as a bit of a preview of what was to come for the Miami Heat down the road and rumor has it that this is the weekend that kicked off that conversation.
The game was close throughout. The East took a three-point lead after the first quarter, led by seven at the half and had extended it to nine going into the fourth. The West would mount a comeback but would fall just short in a great finish. Chris Bosh hit two free throws with five seconds on the clock to give his team a 141-139 lead, which would be the final after Carmelo Anthony missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win it. And doesn’t it seem like a million years ago that ‘Melo was a Nugget and playing for the Western Conference? Bosh had 23 points and 10 boards off the bench and got a lot of help from his future teammates in South Beach. LeBron James, in the final year of his first tenure with Cleveland, scored 25 points and Dwyane Wade took MVP honors with 28 points on 12-for-16 shooting and added 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.
Carmelo led a very balanced attack in the losing effort with 27 points and was one of seven members of the Western Conference roster to score in double figures.
2. 2003
In the long history of the NBA All-Star Game, only one has gone into double overtime and that happened in Atlanta in 2003, which was also the final All-Star Game to feature Michael Jordan. Jordan actually wasn’t even voted into the starting lineup. Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson had been voted in at the guard spots for the Eastern Conference and Vince Carter had been voted in at small forward. However, just before the game started, Carter relinquished his spot to his fellow Tar Heel and Jordan would go on to play 36 minutes of this game. He would also address the crowd at halftime following a musical tribute from Mariah Carey (remember that Wizards dress) in a very cool scene. But this was much more than a Jordan tribute show. This was a fantastic basketball game from start to finish and was very competitive.
The Western Conference trailed by five after the opening frame but a 37-point second quarter put them ahead by three at the halfway mark. The East came out hot in the third and took a seven-point lead into the fourth. But the West battled back to tie it and we went into overtime. And then it was time for Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who had been playfully jawing at one another during the game, to try and win it for their teams. Jordan would hit a beautiful fadeaway with 4.8 seconds to go but Kobe wasn’t going for another tie. He went for a 3-pointer but was fouled by Jermaine O’Neal, giving him three free throws and a chance to seal it. But he only hit two and for the first time in history, the NBA All-Star Game was going to double overtime.
It was the Kevin Garnett show from there. He had been playing well all night long but hit three straight jumpers to put the game out of reach as the West pulled away to a 155-145 victory. Garnett won the Most Valuable Player with a stat line of 37 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and a block. Kobe ended up with 22.
Michael Jordan ended up with 20 points on 9-for-27 shooting but those two guards who were voted in ahead of him led the way as Tracy McGrady scored 29 and Allen Iverson led the Eastern Conference with 35.
1. 1987
The 1987 NBA All-Star Game had so many different storylines to it, which is why it stands out as much as it does.
First, there’s just the rosters themselves. The starting lineup for the East was Dominique Wilkins, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Julius Erving, who was making his final All-Star Game appearance. I mean, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale and Isiah Thomas were coming off of the bench. And then there’s the drama on this roster. You have to remember that this was a time when the players weren’t really buddies like they are now. The Celtics and Pistons hated each other and Detroit and Chicago was becoming a fierce rivalry as well. It’s been speculated for years that Isiah and Bill Laimbeer had planned a “freeze out” strategy to keep Jordan from getting involved in the offense, something that may hold water given the fact that MJ, who averaged 37 points per game that year, only scored 11 points.
While the Western Conference seemingly didn’t have the same kind of talent on their roster, they still had Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Hakeem Olajuwon in the starting lineup. But it was a replacement that ended up stealing the show in Seattle that night. Sonics forward Tom Chambers hadn’t even been selected to the All-Star Game but was put on the team and into the starting lineup when Ralph Sampson went down with an injury. Magic got him involved early and he took advantage, scoring 34 points on 13-for-25 shooting in 29 minutes on his way to the MVP and the home crowd ate it up.
And the entire game was just really fun to watch. It was close, very competitive throughout and went into overtime with the West coming out on top, 154-149. Rolando Blackman had a great night off the bench for the West with 29 points and James Worthy chipped in 22 while Magic set the pace with 13 assists. Dr. J scored a very efficient 22 and Moses Malone led the East with 29.
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What was your favorite NBA All-Star Game? Please feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below and stay tuned to FanSided all week for coverage leading up to this weekend’s festivities in New Orleans.