April 2024 Basketball Wiretap

Phoenix To Host 2027 NBA All-Star Game

Feb 27, 2024 2:42 PM

The 2027 NBA All-Star Game will be held in Phoenix. 

Mat Ishbia formally applied for NBA and WNBA All-Star games in May 2023. The Mercury will host this year's WNBA All-Star weekend July 18-20.

Phoenix last hosted the All-Star Game in 2009 when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were co-MVP.

The 2025 All-Star Game will be held in San Francisco, while the 2026 edition will be at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

Duane Rankin/Arizona Republic

Tags: Phoenix Suns, NBA, NBA All-Star

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2024 NBA All-Star Game Drews 5.5M Viewers, Up 14 Percent From 2023

Feb 20, 2024 10:31 AM

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game drew 11.6 million unique viewers across TNT, TBS, truTV and B/R Sports on Max, up 20 percent vs. last year. 

The game averaged 5.5 million viewers, up 14 percent vs. last year.

The game was largely panned for an overt lack of intensity and general apathy as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 211-186

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Tags: NBA, NBA All-Star

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NBA All-Star Saturday Night Averages 4.6M Viewers, Up 31 Percent From 2023

Feb 18, 2024 9:43 PM

The NBA's 2024 All-Star Saturday drew 10 million unique viewers in the United States, which is up 54 percent compared to last season.

It is the most-watched NBA All-Star Saturday Night in four years.

The telecast averaged 4.6 million viewers and peaked with 5.4 million viewers during the "Stephen vs. Sabrina" portion of the evening. The average viewership number was up 31 percent compared to 2023.

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Tags: NBA, NBA All-Star

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Mac McClung Wins Slam Dunk Contest

Feb 17, 2024 11:01 PM

Mac McClung repeated as the Slam Dunk Contest. McClung defeated Jaylen Brown in the final.

McClung's final dunk drew the only perfect score of the night. The Osceola Magic star said "I'll never say never" when asked if he'd come back next year to try to three-peat.

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Tags: Mac McClung, Osceola Magic, NBA, D-League, NBA All-Star, D-League Award, D-League Teams

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Stephen Curry Beats Sabrina Ionescu In 3-Point Shootout

Feb 17, 2024 10:12 PM

Stephen Curry said he knew the pressure was on when Sabrina Ionescu put up 26 points in their 3-point shootout. Curry knew that pressure was building when he didn't make either of the long shots during his run.

In the end, Curry came through by hitting most of his shots on his final two racks to win the challenge by a 29-26 margin.

Both Curry and Ionescu said they hope that events like this will continue to be a part of All-Star Weekend going forward.

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Tags: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, NBA, NBA All-Star

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Damian Lillard Wins 3-Point Contest

Feb 17, 2024 9:50 PM

For the second consecutive year, Damian Lillard won the 3-Point Contest. Lillard defended his title from the 2023 version of the contest.

Lillard beat Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young in the finals of the event. Those three had to go to a shootout round, along with Tyrese Haliburton to decide who would be in the finals.

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Tags: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, NBA All-Star

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Team Pacers Wins Skills Challenge

Feb 17, 2024 9:06 PM

Team Pacers won the Skills Challenge at 2024 All-Star Weekend. The team consisted of Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner.

Team Pacers defeated Team All-Stars in a halfcourt-shot shootout tiebreaker to decide the event champion. Team All-Stars consisted of Trae Young, Tyrese Maxey and Scottie Barnes.

Team 1st Picks finished in third in the event. This team featured Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama.

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Tags: Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers, NBA, NBA All-Star

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Bucks Bidding To Host 2027 Or 2028 NBA All-Star Weekend

Feb 17, 2024 5:54 PM

The Milwaukee Bucks are bidding to host the 2027 or 2028 NBA All-Star Weekend. The Bucks would host the event at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

2025 All-Star Weekend is scheduled to be hosted in San Francisco at the Chase Center. The 2026 event is scheduled for the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The Intuit Dome is scheduled to become the LA Clippers home at the start of the 2024-25 season.

Milwaukee has hosted the NBA All-Star Game once in franchise history. In 1977 the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference. Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers was named MVP.

Chris Haynes/TNT

Tags: Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, NBA All-Star

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Kawhi Leonard To Play 'A Little Bit' In All-Star Game

Feb 17, 2024 5:41 PM

Kawhi Leonard missed the LA Clippers final game before the All-Star break due to adductor soreness. However, Leonard seemed to indicate the injury isn't serious before the All-Star Game.

Leonard said he'd play "a little bit" in Sunday's game. That seems to indicate that Leonard's injury shouldn't be anything that causes him to miss much time.

The Clippers star has played in 48 of his team's 53 games this season. This includes playing in both ends of multiple back-to-back sets.

Law Murray/The Athletic

Tags: Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers, NBA, NBA Injury, NBA All-Star

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Bennedict Mathurin Named MVP Of Rising Stars Challenge

Feb 17, 2024 7:48 AM

The host team got 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend off to a great start. Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin was named the unanimous MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge.

Mathurin scored 18 points in Team Jalen's semifinal game. He followed that up by being part of an ensemble effort that led Team Jalen to the championship.

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Tags: Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers, NBA, NBA All-Star

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Kawhi Leonard Uncertain To Play In All-Star Game Due To Left Adductor Strain

Kendra Andrews/ESPN

Scottie Barnes, Trae Young Named As All-Star Game Replacements

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Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Jalen Brunson Commit To Three-Point Contest

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Jaylen Brown Considering Participating In Dunk Contest

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Doc Rivers To Coach East For All-Star Game, Will Give Share & Ring To Adrian Griffin

Tim MacMahon/ESPN

Mike Brown Calls De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis All-Star Snubs 'A Glaring Wrongdoing'

Marc Spears/Andscape

Jalen Brunson, Kawhi Leonard Headlines 2024 NBA All-Star Reserves

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