NBA All-Star Game

Willis Smith, Staff Writer
February 18, 2022

As the calendar flips to February and the commotion of the Super Bowl has died down, the NBA takes center stage as they put on their All-star game for full display. The first All-Star game was held in 1951 at the Boston Garden, and since then, there has been an annual exhibition which has also incorporated other events and competitions throughout the weekend.

The All-Star game picks the 12 best players of each conference during that season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the most All-Star selection of all time with 19, while Kobe Bryant and LeBron James follow right behind with 18 and 17, respectively. The voting selection of the All-Star game is made up of three committees where the fans make up 50 percent of the vote and players and media each make up 25 percent. However, this year, the selection process did get slandered by basketball pundits after Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors was selected as an All-Star starter. Wiggins, backed up by an immense fanbase, was propelled into a starter role when many say his statistics don’t align to him garnering such accolades. Many are in favor of Minnesota Timberwolves Center Karl Anthony-Towns. However, playing in one of the smaller markets, he doesn’t nearly get the fan vote comparative to Wiggins.

Senior Brett Williams shared his opinion on the selection: “He [Wiggins] shouldn’t be a starter. A reserve? Yes. I feel as though Karl Anthony-Towns should have been bumped up to that position over him [Wiggins].” Towns is currently averaging more points, assists and rebounds than Wiggins.

However, as the All-Star game has grown older, so has the introduction of different events to expand it from just a game to a whole weekend, with the skills competition, dunk contest and the 3pt contest garnering the most attention. When asked his favorite event, Williams said, “I think the skills competition is the most entertaining.”

The games this year takes place in Cleveland, Ohio on February 20th; however, in 2024, the game comes to
Indiana where the Gainbridge Fieldhouse will hold the All-Star game and its festivities.