The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are working on an agreement for an All-Star Game on March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, a one-night event that includes a game between the Eastern and Western Conferences and skills matches, sources said. ESPN.
While no formal agreement has yet been made, the NBA and NBPA have gone through the details of a scaled-down event that focuses on transporting players in and out of Atlanta in a significantly shorter amount of time than would be necessary on a typical All-Star weekend sources said. Security protocols are among the details that are still being ironed out.
The NBA and union are increasingly confident that enough of the league’s top players are willing to compete during a tight mid-season hiatus in this shortened pandemic schedule, sources said. Outside of conference and NBA Finals, the All-Star Game has traditionally been at the top of fan engagement for the league – another motivating factor to save the event this season.
The raw financial impact of playing the game is immediately unclear. Because the league has shortened the regular season by 10 games and does not have a separate All-Star Game TV deal, the league could also have made more revenue by filling the weekend with more regular season games. The NBA and NBPA roughly share a 50-50 split in basketball-related earnings.
The NBA has made the All-Star event mandatory for players in the past, but much of the pandemic has included opt-out clauses, including the Orlando reboot and the 2020-2021 regular season. According to sources, this is also part of the discussions surrounding the All-Star Game.
The NBA has scheduled a mid-season break for March 5-10. The league will follow a shortened 72-game schedule for the regular season, including a second-half schedule yet to be announced. NBPA president Chris Paul is a supporter of the Atlanta All-Star Game idea, which includes a plan to use the game to benefit historically black colleges and universities and COVID-19 lighting, sources said. Still, this is an idea that has met with resistance and skepticism from both players and team leaders. Even with protocol security around the game, many see it as an unnecessary risk to the league, players, and support staff. The travel and safety protocols are expected to be similar to a regular NBA game: flying the night before in a private jet and flying after the game.
Atlanta is home to Turner Sports, which can televise the game without the crew leaving town. Even a game with no fans – or with a sparse, socially aloof turnout – would still require significant travel for players, support staff and league officials in the teeth of the pandemic. Typical corporate sponsor hosting, an important financial part of normal All-Star weekends, would not be possible during the pandemic.
The NBA originally postponed a February All-Star Weekend for Indianapolis. Indiana has since been awarded the 2024 All-Star Game.