Report: NBA, NBAPA Near Agreement On All-Star Game
Feb 2, 2021, 9:59 AM
State Farm Arena In Atlanta (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – There may be an NBA All-Star game after all. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA and NBA Players Associaton are nearing an agreement on hosting the annual event on March 7 in Atlanta.
The league had initially planned to shell the event that separates the first and second half of the pandemic abbreviated 72-game season but opted instead to host the popular game in hopes of raising money for historically Black colleges and universities and COVID-19 relief campaigns.
The NBA would also host traditional All-Star weekend events, including the dunk contest, three-point shoot out, and skills challenge, but would condense the weekend-long event into one night.
Story filed to ESPN: The NBA and NBPA are progressing toward an agreement for an All-Star Game on March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, a single-night event that would encompass an Eastern vs. Western Conference game and skills competitions, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 2, 2021
Though the game is gaining momentum, some details still must be ironed out.
“The NBA has made the All-Star event mandatory for players in the past, but opt-out clauses have been included in much of the pandemic, including the Orlando restart and the 2020-2021 regular season,” according to Wojnarowski. “That’s believed to be part of the discussions around the All-Star Game as well, sources said.”
The event was originally scheduled to be held in Indianapolis this month but has rebooked the weekend for 2024 with the weekend being hosted in Milwaukee in 2022 and Salt Lake City in 2023.
If the event is finalized, the game and skills challenge will be hosted at State Farm Arena in Georgia where the Atlanta Hawks play their home games.
