It is typically a time where the great and good of the NBA showcase their unique skills to an assembled crowd of fans and A-list celebrities.
But in 2021, like many other things in life, the NBA All-Star Game will be a little different. Only a very limited number of invited guests will be allowed to watch the best the league has to offer on March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The main event of the day will still be the All-Star Game — where the league’s best players duke it out — with the skills challenge and the three-point contest happening beforehand. The high flying slam dunk contest will take place at half time. The Rising Stars match, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent, is not taking place this year due to the limitation of having All-Star events just on one night. As well as putting on a show, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association has announced that they will commit more than $2.5 million in funds and resources toward Historically Black Colleges and Universities and support and awareness around equity and access to COVID-19 care, relief and vaccines. NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the league will try to create a « mini bubble » around the event, with players, staff and anyone else in attendance requiring extensive testing. « I do feel it’s important to say to your viewers that there will be nothing that we’ll be doing in Atlanta, unfortunately, that’s open to the public, » Silver told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday. « So I want to discourage people from coming to Atlanta for the All-Star festivities. The players will only be at the hotel and the arena and they’ll be no other events, other than essentially a made-for TV show. » The best against the best The All-Star Game is the opportunity fans get to vote for the most deserving players to receive the recognition their excellent seasons deserve.
