The Cleveland Cavaliers may have lost LeBron James, but it did gain the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, which will bring plenty of star power to Cleveland.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will play host to the NBA’s biggest stars in 2022.
According to the Associated Press/ABC News, the NBA has selected Cleveland to host the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, per a source familiar to the selection process. Local media was the first to announce that the NBA was giving Cleveland the keys to the All-Star Cadilac.
It was a shot of good news for a team that has sputtered out of the gate this season. After losing LeBron James to free agency this summer, the Cavaliers re-tooled their roster around Kevin Love in an effort to push for a playoff spot this season.
The early season results haven’t looked good as the team is 1-6, and just this past Monday, have reportedly fired head coach Tyron Lue. So, Cleveland’s NBA team was in desperate need of a pick-me-up, and they received a small dose of good news with the All-Star Game announcement.
This will be the second time that Cleveland will play host to the mid-season classic. The last All-Star Weekend held in The Forest City was in 1997, which was extra special because it was the league’s 50th season, and before the game, the NBA honored its Top 50 players of all-time that night.
Playing host to the All-Star Game can be a huge economic boom for an NBA market, especially a mid-tier market like Cleveland, and Cleveland’s business community are, no doubt, celebrating the good news; and with a revitalized downtown, Cleveland is ready to show the NBA world that it knows how to throw a party.
This season’s NBA All-Star Weekend will be hosted by Charlotte, followed by Chicago and Indianapolis. Whoever said the Midwest was boring?