The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 14, 2010, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 season. It was the 59th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 141–139. The East's Dwyane Wade, who recorded 28 points on 75% shooting, 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals, was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. This was the second time that the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area had hosted the All-Star Game; the area had previously hosted the event in 1986. Dallas was awarded the 2010 All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on October 30, 2008.
The All-Star Weekend began on Friday, February 12, 2010, with the Celebrity Game and the Rookie Challenge, a game between the league's best rookies and second-year players. On Saturday, the event continued with the All-Star Saturday Night, which featured the Shooting Stars Competition, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shootout, Slam Dunk Contest and H–O–R–S–E Competition. The D-League All-Star Game and the second D-League Dream Factory Friday Night, the latter of which was modeled after the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, also took place during the All-Star Weekend. The D-League Dream Factory Friday Night was held on Friday and the D-League All-Star Game was held on Saturday. In the Rookie Challenge, the Rookies defeated the Sophomores for the first time since 2002, with Rookies' Tyreke Evans named as the game MVP. In the All-Star Saturday Night events, Nate Robinson won his third Slam Dunk Contest while Paul Pierce and Steve Nash won the Three-Point Shootout and Skills Challenge respectively. Team Texas, the home team, won the Shootings Stars Competition. Kevin Durant repeated as champion in the H–O–R–S–E Competition.
The announced attendance for the All-Star Game was 108,713, the all-time attendance record for the sport. The previous verified record for attendance at a basketball game was 78,129, set in a December 13, 2003 game between Kentucky and Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit. The final of the 1968 European Cup Winners' Cup between AEK Athens and Slavia Prague at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens is believed to have had an attendance of 120,000 but that total was not verified at the time. The previous record attendance for an NBA All-Star Game was 44,735, set at the Houston Astrodome for the 1989 All-Star Game. This event also broke the record for the single largest attendance for an indoor event, previously held by WrestleMania III in 1987.
This marked the first All-Star game where neither team wore a white uniform. The East wore blue uniforms with silver trim, while the West wore red uniforms with gold trim.
Venues
The Dallas Mavericks served as host of an All-Star Game for the second time in franchise history; they previously hosted the 1986 All-Star Game at their former home court, the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
The venue for the game on February 14 was Cowboys Stadium, home of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys, while the Rookie Challenge and NBA All-Star Saturday Night events were held on February 12 and February 13, 2010, respectively, at American Airlines Center, home of the Mavericks. This marked the first time the All-Star events were split between two venues since 1989.
The Mavericks were awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by NBA commissioner David Stern on October 30, 2008. This was the first All-Star Game to be played in a football stadium since 1996 when San Antonio's Alamodome hosted the event.
All-Star Game
Coaches
The coaches for the All-Star Game are the head coaches of the teams with the best winning percentage in each conference through the games of January 31, two weeks before the All-Star Game. However, an NBA rule also prohibits a coach from being selected for consecutive All-Star Games. Because Phil Jackson and Mike Brown coached in the 2009 All-Star Game, they were not eligible for selection, even though their teams (respectively the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers) had the best winning percentages in their respective conferences at the January 31 cutoff date.
The coach for the Western Conference team was Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl. This is the fourth time Karl was selected to be an All-Star coach, after previous selections in 1994, 1996 and 1998. At January 31, the Nuggets had 32–15 record, the second best winning percentage in the Western Conference, behind Phil Jackson's Lakers. The coach for the Eastern Conference team was Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. This is the second time Van Gundy was selected to be an All-Star coach, after previously being selected in 2005. At January 31, the Magic had 32–16 record, the second best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference, behind Mike Brown's Cavaliers.
Players The rosters for the All-Star Game are chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards, two forwards and one center who receive the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. The reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences. The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The reserves consists of two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers topped the All-Star Ballots with 2,549,693 votes, which earned him a starting position in the Eastern Conference team. Allen Iverson, who retired briefly before returning to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, earned his eleventh straight selection to the All-Star roster. Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard completed the Eastern Conference starting position. These five starters also started in the previous year's Eastern Conference team. The Eastern Conference reserves includes 4 first-time selections, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Gerald Wallace and Al Horford. Wallace became the first player to represent the Charlotte Bobcats in the All-Star game, while Rose became the first All-Star for the Chicago Bulls since Michael Jordan.
The Western Conference leading vote-getter is Kobe Bryant with 2,456,224 votes. Two-time MVP Steve Nash returned after missing out on the All-Star roster the previous year. Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Amar'e Stoudemire completed the Western Conference starting position. Bryant, Duncan and Stoudemire all started in last year's game, although Stoudemire was listed as a forward then. Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki represented the home town after being selected as a reserve. The Western Conference reserves includes 3 first-time selections, Kevin Durant, Zach Randolph and Deron Williams, who grew up and starred in high school in the Dallas area.
Four players missed the game: Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Brandon Roy due to injury; Allen Iverson for personal reasons. As a result, four more were named to the roster as replacements: Chauncey Billups for Paul, Chris Kaman for Roy, Jason Kidd for Bryant and David Lee for Iverson. Both Kaman and Lee are first-time selections. Eastern Conference coach Stan Van Gundy selected Joe Johnson to replace Iverson in the starting lineup, while Western Conference coach George Karl selected Dirk Nowitzki to replace Bryant in the starting lineup.
Roster
+Eastern Conference All-Stars Pos. Player Team # of selections Total votes Starters G Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers 11th 1,269,568 G Dwyane Wade Miami Heat 6th 2,327,550 F LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 6th 2,549,693 F Kevin Garnett Boston Celtics 13th 1,978,116 C Dwight Howard Orlando Magic 4th 2,360,096 Reserves G Joe Johnson Atlanta Hawks 4th — G Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics 1st — G Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls 1st — F Paul Pierce Boston Celtics 8th — F Gerald Wallace Charlotte Bobcats 1st — F Chris Bosh Toronto Raptors 5th — F/C Al Horford Atlanta Hawks 1st — C David Lee New York Knicks 1st — Head coach: Stan Van Gundy (Orlando Magic)
+Western Conference All-Stars Pos. Player Team # of selections Total votes Starters G Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 7th 1,222,235 G Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers 12th 2,456,224 F Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets 3rd 2,137,560 F Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 12th 1,156,696 C Amar'e Stoudemire Phoenix Suns 5th 1,824,093 Reserves G Chauncey Billups Denver Nuggets 5th — G Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks 10th — G Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 3rd — G Brandon Roy Portland Trail Blazers 3rd — G Deron Williams Utah Jazz 1st — F Kevin Durant Oklahoma City Thunder 1st — F Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 9th — F Zach Randolph Memphis Grizzlies 1st — F/C Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers 3rd — C Chris Kaman Los Angeles Clippers 1st — Head coach: George Karl (Denver Nuggets)
Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Brandon Roy did not participate due to injury. Allen Iverson did not play for personal reasons. Chauncey Billups was named as a replacement for Chris Paul, Chris Kaman was named as a replacement for Brandon Roy, Jason Kidd was named as a replacement for Kobe Bryant, and David Lee was named as a replacement for Allen Iverson. Joe Johnson started in place of Allen Iverson. Dirk Nowitzki started in place of Kobe Bryant. Although the NBA listed Pau Gasol as a forward in the All-Star ballot, he was selected as a reserve center by the head coaches.
Game
All-Star Weekend
Rookie Challenge
The T-Mobile Rookie Challenge featured a team of standout first-year players ('Rookies') against a team of standout second-year players ('Sophomores'). The game was divided into two twenty-minute halves, similar to college basketball. The participating players were chosen by voting among the league's assistant coaches. The Rookie team included five of the top ten picks from the 2009 NBA draft: Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, James Harden and Brandon Jennings. The Sophomores team featured seven players from the previous Rookie Challenge game: Michael Beasley, Marc Gasol, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, O. J. Mayo, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. However, Rose was later replaced by Anthony Morrow due to Rose's selection to the Skills Challenge and the All-Star Game.
The head coaches for the Rookies and Sophomores teams were the lead assistants from the All-Star Game coaching staffs, Adrian Dantley from the Denver Nuggets and Patrick Ewing from the Orlando Magic. They were assisted by two All-Stars who served as assistant coach, Kevin Durant and Chris Bosh. Durant participated in his third successive Rookie Challenge game, after playing as a rookie and sophomore in the last two years. Bosh, a Dallas native, returned to his hometown where he grew up and starred in high school basketball. Dantley and Durant coached the Rookie team while Ewing and Bosh coached the Sophomore team.
At halftime, sophomore Eric Gordon and rookie DeMar DeRozan competed in the inaugural NBA All-Star Slam Dunk-In, a single-round slam dunk competition to determine the fourth participant of the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday. DeRozan, who was not part of the Rookie team, earned 61% of the fans vote to defeat Eric Gordon and won a spot to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest.
+Rookies Pos. Player Team F/C DeJuan Blair San Antonio Spurs F Omri Casspi Sacramento Kings G Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors G Tyreke Evans Sacramento Kings G Jonny Flynn Minnesota Timberwolves F Taj Gibson Chicago Bulls G James Harden Oklahoma City Thunder G Brandon Jennings Milwaukee Bucks F Jonas Jerebko Detroit Pistons Head coach: Adrian Dantley (Denver Nuggets) Assistant coach: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)