The
2007 NBA All-Star Game was played on
Sunday, February 18, 2007 at the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas
' Thomas and Mack Center
in Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States. It was the 56th annual
All-Star Game. It was the first time the All-Star Game was played
in a city without an NBA franchise and first to be played on a
college campus. The game was televised on
TNT at 9 ET as part as the
NBA on TNT production
studios.
The Western Conference set All-Star records with 69 field goals and
52 assists on its way to an emphatic 153-132 win over the Eastern
Conference All-Stars at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Amare Stoudemire racked up 29
points and nine boards and
Carmelo
Anthony had 20 and nine for the West. 2006
All-Star MVP LeBron James led the Eastern Conference with 28
points, six rebounds and six assists and
Dwight Howard tallied 20 points and 12 boards.
Kobe Bryant, previously the MVP of the
2002 All-Star Game, moved
from 11th to 10th place on all-time All-star scoring, surpassing
Magic Johnson. Bryant posted 31
points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists and steals;
for his performance, he was selected as the MVP of the All-Star
game receiving a more favorable reception from the crowd than 2002.
Also,
Dirk Nowitzki became the first
European born-player to be a starter at the All-Star Game.
Announced
on August 5, 2005, the NBA, led by Commissioner David
Stern, would not allow wagering on the results of the game in
the state of Nevada
.
Las Vegas
The choice to choose Vegas as the location was widely regarded as a
bid by the city to give Las Vegas its first sports franchise. Mayor
Oscar Goodman met with
David Stern to discuss the possibility during
the events. On April 5, Goodman sent a letter to the commisionner,
requesting a meeting to sort out the matter. All-Star MVP and
former teammates
Kobe Bryant and
Shaquille O'Neal welcomed the
possibility, amid the gambling.
The All-Star rosters
The 2006 All-Star MVP
LeBron James was
the top vote-getter, receiving 2,516,049 votes for the
Eastern Conference's
small forward position. One player has
received more votes in NBA history: Dwight Howard with 3,150,181.
Other players that received more than two million votes:
guard Kobe
Bryant of the
Lakers and
Dwyane Wade of the
Miami Heat and center Yao of the
Houston Rockets. All three started at their
positions in their respective conference—with the exception of Yao
Ming due to injury.
In the
Western Conference,
the race was tight.
Allen Iverson,
formerly the seven-time East
point guard
starter, moved to
Denver from
Philadelphia, attracting votes
from reigning
NBA
MVP Steve Nash. But surprisingly,
neither of the two was voted in; both were reserves as swingman
Tracy McGrady came in the back door
win.
Dirk Nowitzki, another player who
analysts predicted that would be starting, was not able to muster
enough votes to get over former MVP
Kevin
Garnett's 1,600,000, but was put in by coaches as a reserve and
later added to the starting lineup by West coach Mike D'Antoni.
Tim Duncan was also voted in as a
forward.
Carmelo Anthony, the star
small forward for the Nuggets, was not voted in as a starter or
reserve, contrary to earlier reports that head coaches from the
conference would put him in the lineup despite being involved in
a brawl, but was
allowed as a reserve (because
Carlos
Boozer was injured).
Mehmet Okur of
the
Utah Jazz and
Ray
Allen of the
Seattle Sonics
were chosen by Stern to replace the injured Nash and Iverson.
Gilbert Arenas of the East benefited
from Iverson's move to the West. In one of the closest races in
game history, Arenas gained enough calls to start as the point
guard of the East, over the
New Jersey
Nets'
Vince Carter. Carter was
eventually named as a reserve along with teammate
Jason Kidd. In a controversial race,
Shaquille O'Neal was voted in as starting
center for the 14th straight time (despite playing only four games
up to that point), over young star
Dwight
Howard, whose
Orlando Magic were a
surprise that season.
Chris Bosh of the
Toronto Raptors was voted by the
fans to start, marking the first time a Raptor started since
Vince Carter was the top vote getter in
his last season in Toronto. The blooming forward was having his
best season yet, and coaches and fans mutually agreed that he
deserved a starting spot. Supporters of O'Neal defended the fact
that the All-Star Game is a fan event, while detractors said this
was an example of what was wrong with the voting system.
Coaches
The coach whose team has the best record in its conference is
granted the right to coach their team. However, despite this rule,
no one is allowed to coach in two consecutive All-Star Games. The
Dallas Mavericks'
Avery Johnson, who coached the West last year,
fell under this rule so
Mike D'Antoni
of the
Phoenix Suns took his place. The
East's coach was
Eddie
Jordan of the
Washington
Wizards, as
Flip Saunders was
ineligible due to coaching the East last year.
Players
Appearance denotes the number of times the player been selected to
play in the All-Star game, including 2007.
Jason Kidd of the East and
Carlos Boozer,
Steve
Nash,
Allen Iverson, and
Yao Ming of the West could not play due to
injuries. The game featured seven first time All-Stars.
- {| class="wikitable"
Unable to participate due to injury. Nowitzki was named to the starting lineup in place of Yao.
Named to team by commissioner David Stern as replacement for injured player.
Officials
- 24 - Mike Callahan
- 33 - Sean Corbin
- 13 - Monty McCutchen
T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
Rookies
Sophomores
Results
- {| class="wikitable"
David Leehit all 14 of his
field-goal attempts for a game-high 30 points as the Sophomore beat
the Rookies for the fifth consecutive year, 155-114. Lee, who added
11 rebounds and four assists, took home MVP of the 2007 Rookie
Challenge.
Chris Paulnotched novice-game records of
17 assists and nine steals to go with 16 points.
Monta Elliswas the beneficiary of many of Paul's
assists, as he had 5
alley-oopdunks in a
3:25 span, en route to scoring 28 points.
Rudy
Gayand
Paul Millsappaced the Rookie
squad with 22 points apiece.
This game set a number of records for the Rookie Challenge:
- Highest scoring half: 78 points (Sophomores 2nd Half)
- Chris Paul's 17 assist and nine steals
Coaches
Rookies: Head Coach: Mike O'Koren of the Washington Wizards;
Assistant Coach: TBD
Sophomores: Head Coach:
Marc
Iavaroniof the Phoenix Suns; Assistant Coach: TBD
Other events
Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
Contestants
Jason Kapono tied
Mark Price's
final-round record with 24 points and outlasted Gilbert Arenas on
his way to the 2007 Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout title. Arenas
notched a first-round high of 23 points and had 17 in the finals.
Defending champion Dirk Nowitzki had 20 in round one and nine in
the finals, and Kapono narrowly made the finals with a first-round
score of 19. Mike Miller (18), Damon Jones (15) and Jason Terry
(10) were eliminated early.
The Slam Dunk Contest was a memorable one. Dwight Howard jumped up
and dunked while posting a sticker of him laughing, on the
backboard. Eventually, Gerald Green and Nate Robinson went to the
final round. Robinson looked unimpressive with his first dunk, and
Green looked as bad as Robinson. However, Robinson had to do his
second dunk after the limited two-minute period, and scored below
40. Green finished it off by getting a perfect score after jumping
over a table. The judging panel included an impressive list of
former champions who are considered some of the greatest dunkers in
NBA history:
Michael Jordan,
Dominique Wilkins,
Julius Erving,
Kobe
Bryant, and
Vince Carter.
Contestants
Contestants
Unable to participate due to injury.
Named as replacement for injured player.
Result
Dwyane Wade won his second straight Skills Challenge.
Haier Shooting Stars Competition
The San Antonio team tried to be the first team to win back-to-back
titles. Team Chicago (48.8) and Team Detroit (1:06) advanced to
final round. Due to Ben Gordon shooting out of order before Candice
Dupree, Detroit won by default.
Contestants
Schedule
- February 15–19: NBA Jam Session
- Friday, February 16: NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
- Friday, February 16: 2007 Rookie
Challenge
- Saturday, February 17: 1st Annual D-League All-Star Game
- Saturday, February 17: NBA All-Star Saturday (Slam Dunk
Contest, Three-Point Shootout, Shooting Stars Competition, Skills
Challenge)
- Sunday, February 18: 56th Annual NBA All-Star Game
Trivia
- For
the 2007 NBA All-Star Game held in Las Vegas, Leo the Lion of the MGM Grand
, and Lady Liberty
were dressed in giant replica jerseys. The jersey for Leo was
from the West due to the MGM Grand representing Los Angeles. The jersey on Lady
Liberty at the New York-New York
was representing the East.
- Since Las Vegas didn't have an NBA Team, one dancer from each
of the 30 NBA Teams represented their teams in Las Vegas as part of
the inaugural NBA All-Star Dance Team.
- The 2007 All-Star Game was shot in 3D and projected live at the
Mandalay Bay. This is the first time ever that a live event was
shown in 3D. PACE provided the 5 3D HD cameras.
References
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