The NBA All-Star Game is making its way to Indianapolis this year for the first time since 1985. The All-Star Game features the best players from the Western Conference all on one team and the Eastern Conference all on one team. The All-Star game consists of four 12-minute quarters and midway through the fourth quarter a target score is set in place and the first team to reach that score wins. The All-Star Game had transitioned to a team captain format where there would be two team captains and they would draft teams. Now The NBA is transitioning back the the old east vs west format.
Indianapolis is preparing for the game by doing many things that will make people want to visit Indy for the game. The city put a basketball court in the Indianapolis International Airport. Indianapolis also plans on having many activities downtown. CEO of the Pacers, Rick Fuson, said, “We really wanted to do something different than all of the other cities that we’d watched over the years — something certainly different than what we did in 1985 (the last time Indianapolis hosted the game)”.
The game is loaded with NBA stars including Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and more. The starting lineup for each side was just recently released. The Eastern Conference starters consist of Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton. The Western Conference Consists of Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Lebron James is playing in his 20th All-Star Game of his career. This mark surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabar for the most All-Star Game appearances in a career. The All-Star Game reserves consist of many other great NBA players such as Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard. This game will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
In an article by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, he said “The All-Star game has been around for 72 years and the game has been hosted in many different cities. During All-Star weekend there is also a dunk contest, three-point contest, and skills challenge.” The dunk contest is the event that most people look forward to due to the insane dunks the players make up. In an article by Ben Church of CNN, ¨NBA All-Star, Stephen Curry was challenged by New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu to the very first NBA vs WNBA three-point contest during All-Star Weekend.
The NBA is doing a lot to try to make All-Star Weekend a fun time this year. Indianapolis is heavily preparing for this weekend. Some people will want to come and enjoy the game and all other activities. After a long 38 years, the Indy finally gets to host an All-Star Game for the second time.
