Revisiting NBA All-Star Weekends of old
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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis tips off on Friday with its annual celebrity game.
Since its introduction in 2003, the game has become a staple of All-Star Weekend, played each year except 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been two multi-time Most Valuable Player winners — Kevin Hart (4) and Terrell Owens (2) — with other big names consistently participating in the event.
Though the celebrity game has found its place during All-Star Weekend, other events or ideas haven’t stuck around. The NBA has tested various formats, rules and events in hopes of making the basketball-filled weekend as competitive and entertaining as possible.
Here’s a look back at various ideas that added a different twist over the years, but didn’t become a permanent part of NBA All-Star Weekend.
2014 NBA dunk contest
In 2014, the NBA had participants compete on teams in the dunk contest: Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference. Though there were plenty of stars in the event — Paul George, Damian Lillard and John Wall to name a few — the event became confusing.
It included a 90-second freestyle round where the dunkers from each team dunked as many times as they wanted. The result was a flurry of jams that made it tough for fans to acknowledge them properly. Judges chose the winning team, who picked who dunked first or second in the battle round.
That final round included head-to-head matchups. The first team to win three rounds won the competition. Team East was victorious. Unlike previous years, a single person was not crowned champion. Instead, the fans voted Wall as “Dunker of the Night.”
The NBA returned to its old format in 2015.
Legends game brings greats together
A staple of All-Star Weekend in the 1980s and early 1990s, the NBA brought some of its greats together for the “Legends Game.”
The 24-minute exhibition between the Eastern and Western Conference played out in semi-serious fashion where injury prevention was a priority. But in the 1992 game, David Thompson and Norm Nixon were both carted off due to injuries. Thompson suffered a ruptured left patella tendon, while Nixon suffered a ruptured quadricep tendon.
There were fun moments, too. In that same game, San Antonio Spurs legend George Gervin had 24 points. Walt Frazier, Artis Gilmore, Bob Cousy and Pete Maravich were among many to participate through the years.
The NBA called it quits on the game after 1993.
NBA players take on H-O-R-S-E
The NBA implemented a playground favorite for All-Star Weekend in the late 2000s: H-O-R-S-E.
The competition followed traditional rules, but no dunking was allowed, and players had 24 seconds each to “create and mimic shots.” The NBA even assigned a referee to the competition to authenticate shots.
Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson competed in 2009’s inaugural edition. Durant won and faced Rajon Rondo and Omri Casspi the next year.
With Rondo on his final letter in the final round, Durant and Rondo traded 3-point baskets atop the key, displaying the — at times comedic — consistency of NBA stars. Durant won again, and the NBA scrapped the event after 2010 as players opted for simple shots, rather than creative ones.
2002 NBA dunk contest
The 2002 dunk looked a bit different than today’s version. In the first round, participants had to complete a freestyle dunk, followed by a teammate-assisted dunk. Their final dunk of the first round would be determined by spinning the “dunk wheel,” which included replicating a classic slam.
Sections on the dunk wheel included: 1980s, 1990s, His Airness, Human Highlight Reel, Dr. J and a mystery category. Whatever category the wheel landed on, a video would be played to show the exact dunk a player had to replicate. The same format followed in the final round with one freestyle and one wheel dunk.
The wheel led to some memorable recreations as Jason Richardson won, but it didn’t go exactly according to plan in some aspects. Steve Francis had to do a dunk that required palming the ball, something he wasn’t capable of doing.
“It’s fair. That’s the rules,” Francis said after his elimination. “Just like when referees make calls, you can’t complain about it.”
All-Star Game draft
Introduced in 2018, the All-Star Game draft involved the two players that led each conference in votes serving as captains in a snake-style draft to determine the rosters. Conferences were eliminated, too. It was arguably one of the NBA’s best ideas. The inaugural draft wasn’t televised, but the rest were, creating some viral moments on live TV.
LeBron James was a team captain during all six years of the draft, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry and Durant each had their share of opportunities. Antetokounmpo became known for always selecting teammate Khris Middleton with his first pick of the reserves.
Though the draft added a different twist to the game, it didn’t foster the most competitive on-court action. The NBA scrapped the draft after 2023, returning to the classic East vs. West format.
