A look back at previous NBA All-Star Games in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has long had a love affair with basketball, so it’s only appropriate that the city is hosting the NBA All-Star Game for a seventh time this weekend at the Intuit Dome. Previous L.A. games were held in 1963, 1972, 1983, 2004, 2011 and 2018, with Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) hosting the three most recent events.
Icons of the sport have been named the game’s MVP every time it has been held in L.A. – Bill Russell, Jerry West, Julius Erving, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James – and singers Marvin Gaye and Beyonce have made memorable contributions to the proceedings.
Here’s a closer look at those games:
2018, Staples Center
Result: Team LeBron defeated Team Steph, 148-145
MVP: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Recap: James scored 29 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds left, winning his third All-Star Game MVP award while his team rallied to win an wildly entertaining game.
For the first time in 67 All-Star games, the league abandoned the traditional East-West format that had been used since 1951, instead allowing the two captains (the top vote getters) to pick their sides. Those captains – James and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry – essentially led the world’s most talented pickup game.
The teams responded, playing legitimate defense for extended stretches and contesting shots on their way to a thrilling finish. Team LeBron rallied from an 11-point deficit with six minutes to play, closing the game on a 25-11 run. James tied it at 144-144 on a step-back 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining.
DeMar DeRozan (Compton High, USC) made one free throw to put Team Steph back ahead, but James claimed the lead with his layup after some sharp passing by his teammates. DeRozan then turned the ball over on an attempted pass to Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Russell Westbrook made a layup with 10.7 seconds left.
Team Steph had one last chance, but Curry couldn’t elude James and Kevin Durant, who forced him to pass the ball to DeRozan, who couldn’t score over Durant’s defense.
James shot 12 for 17 from the field (4 for 8 from 3-point range) to go with 10 rebounds, eight assists and one steal.
There were no Lakers or Clippers on the West roster, but both franchises added significant star power in the 6-18 months that followed. James signed with the Lakers that summer, then in 2019 the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis and the Clippers acquired Kawhi Leonard (free agent) and Paul George (in a trade with Oklahoma City).
2011, Staples Center
Result: The West beat the East, 148-143
MVP: The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant won his fourth All-Star MVP award.
Recap: Playing in his home arena, Bryant put on a show. He scored 37 points – 21 before halftime – and grabbed 14 rebounds as the West held off a late challenge from the East.
The East, led by LeBron James, threatened several times and cut the West lead to 142-140 with 1:12 left. But Lakers big man Pau Gasol, who had 17 points and seven rebounds off the West bench, had a key tip-in of a Bryant miss with 53 seconds left that helped secure the victory.
Bryant shot 14 for 26 from the field (2 for 7 from 3-point range) and made seven of his eight free throws to go with three assists and three steals in 29 minutes.
James, appearing in his first All-Star Game as a member of the Miami Heat, finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, joining Michael Jordan as the only players with an All-Star Game triple-double. New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire, playing in his first All-Star Game as a member of the East, had 29 points and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade scored 14.
Clippers forward Blake Griffin had eight points, five rebounds and five assists in his All-Star Game debut, but he created one of the weekend’s most memorable moments when he won the dunk contest by dunking over a car off an alley-oop pass thrown by teammate Baron Davis from the car’s sunroof.
Bryant, Gasol and Griffin were the only Lakers or Clippers in the game.
2004, Staples Center
Result: The West defeated the East, 136-132
MVP: Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal won his second MVP award.
Recap: When Shaquille O’Neal won his first All-Star Game MVP in 2000, he was a starter. This time, Shaq made his impact as a reserve. He finished with 24 points on 12-of-19 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots to lead the West to its third straight win.
Kobe Bryant started for the West and finished with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to go with four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Seven of the 12 West players scored 12 points or more, with San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan contributing 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Beyonce performed at halftime.
1983, The Forum
Result: The East defeated the West, 132-123
MVP: Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers)
Recap: Four 76ers made the East roster, but Dr. J turned the most heads in this game, earning his second All-Star MVP award with a flashy array of dunks and drives en route to 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Boston Celtics icon Larry Bird had 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to help lead the East.
Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney and eventual regular-season MVP Moses Malone were the other 76ers in the game in a year when they went on to roll through the playoffs with a 12-1 record, sweeping the Lakers in the Finals.
Lakers point guard Magic Johnson gave the home fans plenty to cheer with 17 points, 16 assists, five rebounds and five steals. Fellow Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with six rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots. Lakers forward Jamaal Wilkes added 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench, and Lakers coach Pat Riley was the West coach.
The game also included Marvin Gaye’s memorable singing of the National Anthem.
A year later, All-Star Weekend started to become a bigger event with the first official dunk contest.
1972, The Forum
Result: The West defeated the East, 112-110
Recap: West had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, six rebounds and five assists, but he made the tie-breaking jumper from the top of the key with one second left to propel the West to a thrilling victory.
Walt Frazier and John Havlicek had heped the East grab a 10-point lead at halftime, but the West squad won the third quarter by 13 points to take a slim lead into the fourth. That set the stage for “Mr. Clutch,” who pulled up for his 20-foot game-winner to end it.
West’s late-game heroics overshadowed a big game from the East’s Dave Cowens (14 points, 20 rebounds), a future Hall of Famer who was making his All-Star Game debut.
Fellow Lakers Wilt Chamberlain (eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists) and Gail Goodrich (four points, two assists) joined West on the team, and the Lakers’ Bill Sharman coached the West squad.
1963, L.A. Sports Arena
Result: The East defeated the West, 115-108
MVP: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics)
Recap: Russell had 19 points, 24 rebounds and five assists to lead the East to victory in the first All-Star Game ever played in California.
Bob Pettit (25 points, 13 rebounds) and the Lakers duo of Wilt Chamberlain (17 points, 19 rebounds) and Elgin Baylor (17 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists) paced the West squad, though Baylor shot just 4 for 15 from the field.
Jerry West (13 points on 5-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds, five assists) and Rudy LaRusso (six points in 11 minutes) were the other Lakers to play in the game, and the Lakers’ Fred Schaus coached the West team.
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