The league's 67th annual midseason exhibition is here. Los Angeles is the center of the NBA’s universe this weekend. This is the fourth time the All-Star game has been played in L.A., the Staples Center most recently played host to the exhibition in 2011.
This year for the first time since the inaugural game in 1951 the NBA All-Star game will not be East versus West, but a mix of players from both conferences on Team Stephen and Team LeBron. The rosters are still made up of 12 best players from each conference, but the two teams were drafted by captains (conference’s leading vote-getters). LeBron James and Stephen Curry became the first players to form their own teams according to the new selection format. The new format is a response to the lack of competition in recent years. Western Conference has won six of the last seven games, with the East’s last win coming in 2014.
But before the stars of the league will take the stage, here are some fun facts you (probably) didn’t know about the NBA All-Star Weekend, use these to impress your family and friends, or maybe win a bet while watching the game:
All-Star Game
- The Eastern Conference has won 37 All-Star Games, and the Western Conference has won 29;
- The most attended NBA All-Star Game is also the most attended basketball game in history. Normally held in an arena, the 2010 contest was held at Cowboys Stadium outside of Dallas. Attendance: 108,713;
- Last season’s final (a 192-182 win for the West) was the highest-scoring ASG ever;
- The always high-scoring affair has seen the winning team score less than 100 points only twice (1953 and 1954);
- The largest margin of victory is 40 points, which was done by the West who beat the East 153-113 in the 1992 All-Star Game;
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo
- The record for most players from one team on an All-Star roster is four. Only nine times in league history a team has had as many All-Stars:
2018: Golden State Warriors (2 starters) Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson
2017: Golden State Warriors (2 starters) Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson
2015: Atlanta Hawks (0 starters) Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague
2011: Boston Celtics (0 starters) Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett
2006: Detroit Pistons (0 starters) Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace
1998: LA Lakers (2 starters) Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones, Shaquille O' Neal, Nick Van Exel
1983: Philadelphia 76ers (3 starters) Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney
1975: Boston Celtics (1 starter) John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Paul Silas
1962: Boston Celtics (2 starters) Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones; - The player to appear on the most All-Star teams was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 19. That’s every year of his career, except for one, in 1978;
- Dirk Nowitzki leads all international players with 13 All-Star appearances, there’s been at least one international player on an ASG roster since 1982;
- LaMarcus Aldridge's 2018 All-Star selection makes this the 20th straight season the Spurs have an All-Star, the longest streak since the ABA-NBA merger. The Thunder own the second-longest active streak: 9 straight seasons. ….. The Spurs have had at least one player selected for the ASG in 39 of 41 years, missing out in 1989 and 1997;
- Ben Wallace is the only undrafted player in NBA history to be voted a starter for the All-Star Game;
- The record for the most MVP awards is held by Bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant who each won the award 4 times. Pettit (1958 and 1959) and Russell Westbrook (2015 and 2016) are the only players to capture back-to-back All-Star MVP award;
- The youngest All-Star was Kobe Bryant who was 19; the youngest All-Star MVP was LeBron James who was 21, and the oldest All-Star was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the age of 41; the oldest All-Star MVP was Shaquille O'Neal (36 years);
- LeBron James is the record-holder for most ASG points (314) in a career. He is the only player to eclipse 300 points in an All-Star career. James scored 20+ point game ten times, most in NBA All-Star History:
LeBron James 10
Oscar Robertson 8
Kobe Bryant 7
Michael Jordan 7
Bob Pettit 7; - The record for the most points scored by a player in the All-Star Game is held by Anthony Davis, who scored 52 points in the 2017 ASG. Davis also became the fifth player to win MVP honors on his home floor:
2017 Anthony Davis
2011 Kobe Bryant
2009 Shaquille O' Neal
2004 Shaquille O' Neal
1993 John Stockton and Karl Malone; - Bob Pettit holds the record for the most rebounds in a game, with 27, and the most rebounds per game, at 16.2. While Wilt Chamberlain is the record-holder for most ASG rebounds in a career (197);
- Magic Johnson holds the record for the most assists in a game, with 22, and for most ASG assists in a career, at 127. Chris Paul’s average of 13.2 assists per All-Star Game is the highest in the history of the event. …He had at least 12 assists in seven of the eight All-Star Games in which he has played;
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds all the blocks records, for the most in a game, with 6, the most per game, at 2.07, and in a career, 31;
- Kobe Bryant is the all-time steals leader, with 38. While Rick Barry holds the record for the most steals in a game, with 8, and the most steals per game, at 3.2;
- The record for the highest career field goal percentage is held by Brandon Roy who shot a crazy 83.3% in three appearances;
- The record for highest career three-point percentage is held by Glen Rice who shot 60% in three appearances;
- 1987 is the last year in which someone fouled out of an ASG, Hakeem Olajuwon had the honor or dishonor;
- There have been four triple-doubles in All-Star Game history ….side note, none of those four players was named the game’s Most Valuable Player:
Michael Jordan – 14 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists in 26 minutes (1997)
LeBron James – 29 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists in 32 minutes (2011)
Dwyane Wade – 24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists in 33 minutes (2012)
Kevin Durant – 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists in 27 minutes (2017); - “The Riley Rule” was adopted in the 90s after Lakers Head Coach Pat Riley earned the right to coach the Western Conference team eight times in nine seasons. From then on, if a coach earns the honors two years in a row, the coach of the team with the next best record serves instead.
Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports
Slam Dunk Contest
- Zach LaVine posted the highest score in any round with 200 in the 2016 final round, as well as the best overall score with 299.0 points;
- 27 players have scored at least one perfect 50 on an individual dunk. Zach LaVine holds the record with the most 50s, with seven; Michael Jordan has the second most with six, followed by Dominique Wilkins and Jason Richardson with five each;
- Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson, and Zach LaVine are the only players to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest back-to-back;
- Kobe Bryant is the youngest player to win the slam dunk contest at the age of 18;
- At 5'7″, Spud Webb is the shortest player to win the NBA slam dunk contest, while Dwight Howard is the tallest winner, at 6'11”;
- Nate Robinson is the only player to win the contest three times.
Three-Point Contest
- Larry Bird, the inaugural winner of this contest, and Craig Hodges have each won three consecutive times, while Mark Price, Jeff Hornacek, Peja Stojaković and Jason Kapono have each won two consecutive times;
- Craig Hodges holds the record for most shots made in one round (21/25), as well as most consecutive shots made (19);
- Detlef Schrempf and Michael Jordan share the record for the fewest points scored in any round with five in 1988 and 1990 respectively;
- Kyrie Irving is the youngest player to win the contest at the age of 20;
- Rimas Kurtinaitis is the only non-NBA player to participate in the contest.
Statistics used courtesy of NBA/Stats and Basketball-Reference.
Follow Us
Subscribe