This year’s 2023-2024 NBA All-Star Game will be the 73rd in the history of NBA All-Star events.
There hasn’t always been an NBA All-Star Game, however. Somewhere along the line, somebody proposed that there should be one, and since its inauguration, it has become an annual tradition.
The original NBA was founded in 1946 when it was named the Basketball Association of America (BAA). It merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in August 1949, which is the year that it became the NBA. The first NBA All-Star Game was not until 1951.
As we prepare to place our NBA bets on this weekend’s game, let’s examine how this event got started and explore the decade-long road that it has traveled.
Considering Context
Before we can consider 1951, however, we need to look at the previous year. It is the previous year’s events – for which, interestingly enough, professional basketball players were not responsible – that helped ignite the NBA All-Star Game tradition.
Basketball Scandal
The NBA and college basketball were both viewed by the public, as they are now, as part of the same greater basketball world.
What happened in college basketball’s 1950-1951 season rocked the public’s perception of this greater basketball world, ultimately necessitating the initiation of something great like an All-Star Game.
In that college basketball season, seven schools peppered throughout the eastern half of the United States – although they were mostly concentrated in New York’s metropolitan area – participated in a point-shaving scandal. Multiple players were arrested as a result, as the event became public knowledge.
It took time for this scandal to be discovered. Bookmakers finally approached the wrong person, as they tried to bribe Manhattan’s Junius Kellogg to shave points. He told his coach, who went to the DA, who had Kellogg wear a wire to implicate guilty players.
The Response
Even besides the player arrests, the response to this scandal was tremendous.
So there is a lot to take away here: the public, first of all, became aware that cheating took place for a while. This duration of cheating, besides the cheating itself, threatened to impress upon the public a connection in their minds between cheating and basketball.
Such a connection would be damaging to the reputation of basketball players and to the integrity of both the college and professional basketball leagues. It could frame them to be what we take WWE wrestling to be.
The First NBA All-Star Game
So to help assert a positive impression of the sport in the minds of the public, the NBA’s publicity director at the time suggested to start an exhibition game in which the best professional basketball players would compete with each other. The suggestion was received with pessimism: the NBA President and other high-ranking basketball officials were not confident in the success of such a spectacle.
Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown did apparently like the suggestion, however, so he offered to put his wallet on the line. The game, he said, would be at his expense.
Thus, the 1951 All-Star Game was set to take place in 1951 in the Boston Garden. The East won the first-ever All-Star Game, defeating the West 111-94.
The Spectacle
The All-Star Game has always prioritized scoring over defense. High-scoring players have always been prioritized as All-Star Game selections. After all, defense requires effort, which is what one invests in the playoffs.
Fans were therefore already being treated to a high-scoring show in 1951. While 111-94 might not seem high-scoring to followers of the NBA today, 205 was a very high point total in 1951. Back then, teams were averaging around 80 points per game.
The NBA All-Star Game has become more of a spectacle as basketball overall has shifted more and more in favor of offenses. The high point totals that we see today were unthinkable back then.
Records
In line with the overall trajectory of the sport toward offense, the All-Star scoring records are all recent. Whereas the lowest point total by both teams in an All-Star Game was 154 in 1953, the highest point total by both teams has more than doubled, reaching 374 in 2017.
Similarly, the lowest point total by a team was 75 by East in 1953. The highest point total by a team is 196 by West.
Defense has become less emphasized, which is why single-game All-Star records for defensive stats like steals remain standing from All-Star Games played decades ago.
Format
The competition had always been East vs. West, except the 2017-2018 All-Star Game initiated a deviation from this tradition, allowing stars from both conferences to play together.
This year, 2023-2024, we get a return of East vs. West. Also, expect even less defense and more scoring.
Last year, Jayson Tatum set the single-game scoring record with 55 points, which is impressive in view of the playing time that reserves get. He’ll play alongside guys in his conference who have been voted into the competition by fans, coaches, and media members.
Reminder: Jayson Tatum as the most points in an NBA All-Star game (55 pts) pic.twitter.com/sQiWB9RQD7
— J.A.V 🦦 (@Patty_Nasty) February 5, 2024
