2007 NBA All-Star Game

The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Thomas and Mack Center in Paradise, 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.

2007 NBA All-Star Game
1234 Total
East 31282944 132
West 39404034 153
DateFebruary 18, 2007
ArenaThomas and Mack Center
CityParadise, Nevada
MVPKobe Bryant
National anthemRoxanne Potvin (CAN)
Danny Gans & Friends (USA)
Referees
Halftime showChristina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Cirque du Soleil
Attendance15,694
NetworkTNT
ESPN Radio
AnnouncersMarv Albert, Doug Collins, and Steve Kerr
Kevin Harlan, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Magic Johnson (All-Star Saturday Night)
Dick Stockton, Reggie Miller and John Thompson (Rookie Challenge)
Jim Durham and Jack Ramsay
NBA All-Star Game
< 2006 2008 >

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. Amar'e Stoudemire racked up 29 points and nine boards and Carmelo Anthony had 20 and nine for the West. 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.

As announced on August 5, 2005, the NBA, led by Commissioner David Stern, did not allow wagering on the results of the game in the state of Nevada.[1]

Venues

The choice to choose Las Vegas as the location was widely regarded as a bid by the city to give it its first major 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 commissioner, requesting a meeting to sort out the matter.[2] All-Star MVP and former teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal welcomed the possibility, amid the gambling.[3]

All-Star Game

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 three 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
During the 2007 All-Star Game

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.[4] Three other players, guards Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and center Yao of the Houston Rockets, received more than two million votes. 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.[5] 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.[6] 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. 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.

Roster

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.

Game
February 18
6:50 p.m. MT
Eastern Conference All-Stars 132, Western Conference All-Stars 153
Scoring by quarter: 31–39, 28–40, 29–40, 44–34
Pts: LeBron James 28
Rebs: Dwight Howard 20		 Pts: Kobe Bryant 31
Thomas and Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 15,694
Referees:

^1 Unable to participate due to injury. Nowitzki was named to the starting lineup in place of Yao.[7]
^2 Named to team by commissioner David Stern as replacement for injured player.

All-Star Weekend

T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
February 16
9:00 p.m. MT
Rookies 114, Sophomores 155
Scoring by half: 48–77, 66–78
Pts: Gay/Millsap 20 Pts: David Lee 30
Thomas and Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada
Referees:

David Lee hit 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 Paul notched novice-game records of 17 assists and nine steals to go with 16 points. Monta Ellis was the beneficiary of many of Paul's assists, as he had 5 alley-oop dunks in a 3:25 span, en route to scoring 28 points. Rudy Gay and Paul Millsap paced 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

The coaches of the game were Mike O'Koren (Assistant coach of the Washington Wizards) for the Rookie Team, and Marc Iavaroni (Assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns) for the Sophomore team.

Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
See also: NBA All-Star Weekend
Contestants
Pos.PlayerTeam
PG Gilbert ArenasWashington Wizards
SG Damon JonesCleveland Cavaliers
SF Jason KaponoMiami Heat
SG Mike MillerMemphis Grizzlies
PF Dirk NowitzkiDallas Mavericks
PG Jason TerryDallas Mavericks

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.

Slam Dunk Contest

The Sprite 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.[8]

Contestants
Pos.PlayerTeamHt.Wt.
SG Gerald GreenBoston Celtics6–8200
C Dwight HowardOrlando Magic6–11265
PG Nate RobinsonNew York Knicks5–9180
PF Tyrus ThomasChicago Bulls6–9215

PlayStation Skills Challenge
Contestants
Pos.PlayerTeam
SG Kobe BryantLos Angeles Lakers
SF LeBron JamesCleveland Cavaliers
PG Steve Nash1Phoenix Suns
PG Chris Paul2New Orleans Hornets
SG Dwyane WadeMiami Heat

^1 Unable to participate due to injury.
^2 Named as replacement for injured player.

Result
Round 1
Name Chest Pass Bounce Pass Jump Shot Outlet Pass Time
LeBron James 1 1 2 2 35.4
Chris Paul 3 1 2 3 39.6
Kobe Bryant 1 1 1 1 29.8
Dwyane Wade 2 1 1 1 31.3
Round 2
Name Chest Pass Bounce Pass Jump Shot Outlet Pass Time
Dwyane Wade 1 1 1 1 26.4
Kobe Bryant 5 2 1 1 45.8

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
Chicago
Ben GordonChicago Bulls
Candice DupreeChicago Sky
Scottie PippenChicago Bulls (retired)
Detroit
Chauncey BillupsDetroit Pistons
Swin CashDetroit Shock
Bill LaimbeerDetroit Pistons (retired)
Los Angeles
Smush ParkerLos Angeles Lakers
Temeka JohnsonLos Angeles Sparks
Michael CooperLos Angeles Lakers (retired)
San Antonio
Tony ParkerSan Antonio Spurs
Kendra WeckerSan Antonio Silver Stars
George GervinSan Antonio Spurs (retired)

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
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References
  1. "Betting Ban Approved in Bid for 2007 All-Star Game". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 2005-06-24. pp. D6. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  2. "Mayor Oscar Goodman's letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern". NBC. 2008-02-13. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
  3. Robin Leach (2007-08-13). "All-Star Wrap Up: Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, David Stern and Mayor Oscar Goodman on the NBA in Vegas". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
  4. Mary Schmitt Boyer (3 February 2007). "He's the people's choice". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
  5. Jonathan Feigen (2007-02-03). "T-Mac edges A.I. to join injured Yao with West". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
  6. Ivan Carter (2007-02-03). "Arenas To Start All-Star Game". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
  7. Paul Coro (2007-02-16). "Mavericks' Nowitzki replaces Yao as starter". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  8. NBA (2007-02-05). "Competitors Set for Sprite Slam Dunk at NBA All-Star Saturday Night Presented by EA Sports". Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
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