The city of Chicago has not had the opportunity to host an All-Star game for almost 30 years, with the last one being held in 1988 at the Chicago Stadium.
During that year, the star of Micheal Jordan graced the court, winning not only a dunk contest against Dominique Wilkins, but also clinching the All-Star game's MVP plum by dropping 40 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals, and four blocks in 29 minutes.
Another hosting gig is in the horizon, but that opportunity might have come in the most unlikely of ways.
On Thursday, the NBA decided to pull the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte, due to the anti-LGBT “HB2” law being passed earlier this year. The league has said that it was opposed to this law, which limits the protection of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the state of North Carolina. With the loss of this, many suitor cities have come up, such as Brooklyn, New Orleans and Chicago. The states of New York, Louisiana, and Illinois have passed laws that makes discrimination against lesbian, gay, and transgender people illegal.
For the Windy City, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune provided more insight into the possibility in his recent article.
And while Yahoo Sports reported that New Orleans has emerged as the front-runner to land the 2017 game, the league is considering Chicago among several potential options.
The Bulls last hosted an All-Star Game in 1988 at the Chicago Stadium, with Jordan winning a memorable dunk contest against Dominique Wilkins and earning MVP honors during the game. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and son Michael, the team's president and chief operating officer, have stated their lack of desire to host the game at the United Center out of respect for season ticket holders, who mostly get displaced when the league takes over the venue.
Maybe if the the Bulls host the game, they could have two All-Stars, with Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade gracing the court. Two players playing for the home city, like with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan last year in Toronto.
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