The NBA All-Star game is a time-honored tradition.
For over 50 years, the game’s best players have come together in a celebration of the game and its greatest talents.
Before getting into the NBA betting sites for the upcoming All-Star Weekend, let’s take a look at the five most impactful All-Star games in NBA history.
5. 1964 NBA All-Star Game January 14th at Boston
The 1964 NBA All-Star Game was significant for multiple reasons.
It was the first All-Star Game to be televised. However, the NBA All-Stars threatened to strike unless the NBA owners would recognize the Players Union.
The NBA and ABC television network had agreed to broadcast the All-Star game as part of a package to televise the NBA. ABC let the NBA know that if the players were to cancel the game, they would no longer televise the other NBA events. So, due to the pressure from the players, the owners agreed to recognize the Union and the game went as planned.
Now the NBA is one of the biggest television events we have. Things could have been quite different if the 1964 All-Star game was not televised.
4. 1992 NBA All-Star Game February 9th at Orlando
The 1992 All-Star Game was the return of Magic Johnson.
Magic had to retire from the NBA after he tested positive for HIV. This was a huge moment in the nation’s awareness of the HIV disease. Johnson was the first high-profile celebrity to be diagnosed with the disease.
Johnson’s admission and battle with the disease made AIDS awareness a popular topic in the country and potentially saved thousands of lives.
Johnson returned to the league at the 1992 All-Star Game and scored 25 points to lead the West to the win.
By playing in the game, Johnson and his fellow NBA All-Stars showed the importance of acceptance and lack of fear when it came to people infected with HIV.
3. 2003 NBA All-Star Game February 9th at Atlanta
The 2003 NBA All-Star game was the league’s farewell to its greatest player, Michael Jordan.
In the game, Jordan was the elder statesman to Kobe Bryant’s youthful and brash emulation of his game. As the past and the future squared off, Kobe Bryant made a three-point attempt to force overtime.
Kobe and the rest of the West All-Stars ushered in a new era of NBA basketball as he and his teammates defeated Jordan in his last game on the NBA All-Star stage.
The NBA was concerned about losing popularity once Jordan left the league. However, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the All-Stars assured commissioner David Stern that the league was in good hands.
This assurance ended up being true, as Bryant led the league to a period of unprecedented high television ratings.
2. 1977 NBA All-Star Game February 13th at Milwaukee
This All-Star Game was packed with talent that the NBA had never seen before in an All-Star game.
This is because it was the first All-Star showdown after the merger of the NBA and the ABA. Former ABA stars such as George Gervin, George McGinnis, and Julius Erving got to take the floor against the NBA’s All-Stars.
The merger was a huge step in the NBA becoming the premier destination for the world’s best basketball.
Julius Erving and his fellow ABA superstars showed that their level of basketball was the same as the NBA. The stage to showcase this was the 1977 All-Star Game.
The NBA/ABA merger had the potential to be a disaster. What if the new franchises could not compete? How would the ABA’s free-flowing style of basketball be received in the more fundamental NBA?
These concerns were addressed and answered in the affirmative when Julius Erving and the rest of the ABA All-Stars showed that they were worthy of inclusion in the new National Basketball Association.
1. 1988 All-Star Game February 7th at Chicago
Michael Jordan was in his home arena when he completed one of the greatest NBA seasons ever recorded.
In 1987/88, Jordan won the NBA MVP and was also the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 35 points a game in an era in which most teams averaged fewer than 100 points per game. Jordan scored a game-high 40 points and claimed All-Star MVP honors the night after winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Jordan showed the world that he was the best player in the league, and would go on to rack up multiple championships after this All-Star statement.
By capping off one of the most dominating seasons in NBA history with a Slam Dunk title and the All-Star MVP, Jordan showed why the 1988 All-Star game is at the top of the list.
