The 2019 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2019, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 season. It was the 68th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the home of the Charlotte Hornets. Team LeBron defeated Team Giannis, 178–164. This was the second time that the NBA All-Star Game format was not Eastern Conference versus Western Conference. Charlotte was announced as host on May 24, 2017. This was the second time that Charlotte hosted the All-Star Game; the first time was in 1991, at the Hornets' previous home arena Charlotte Coliseum.
Charlotte was originally selected to host the 2017 All-Star Game, but it was moved to New Orleans that year because of controversy surrounding North Carolina's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. The 2019 game was televised by TNT for the 17th straight year, while a special “Players Only” alternate telecast was aired on TBS.
All-Star Game Coaches
The two teams were coached from their team captain's respective conference. Mike Budenholzer, head coach of the Eastern Conference leader Milwaukee Bucks, was named as the head coach for Team Giannis on February 1. Michael Malone, head coach of the Western Conference leader Denver Nuggets, was named as the head coach for Team LeBron on February 2.
Rosters The rosters for the All-Star Game are selected through a voting process. The NBA partnered with Google and Twitter counting hashtags as fan votes. The starters were chosen by the fans, media, and current NBA players. Fans made up 50% of the vote, and NBA players and media each comprised 25% of the vote. The two guards and three frontcourt players who received the highest cumulative vote totals were named the All-Star starters. NBA head coaches will vote for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which can be players from their own team. Each coach selects two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category. If a multi-position player is to be selected, coaches are encouraged to vote for the player at the position that was "most advantageous for the All-Star team", regardless of where the player was listed on the All-Star ballot or the position he was listed in box scores.
The All-Star Game starters were announced on January 24, 2019. Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets were named the backcourt starters in the East, earning their sixth and third all-star appearances, respectively. Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks were named the frontcourt starters in the East, both earning their third all-star appearances. Joining in the East frontcourt was Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, his second selection.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and James Harden of the Houston Rockets were named to the starting backcourt in the West, earning their sixth and seventh all-star appearances, respectively. In the frontcourt, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors was named to his tenth career all-star game, along with Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, their sixth and 15th all-star selections, respectively.
The All-Star Game reserves were announced on January 31, 2019. The West reserves included Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, his eighth selection, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, his fifth selection, LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs, his seventh selection, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, his fourth selection, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, his sixth selection, Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, his first selection, and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, his second selection.
The East reserves included Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, his fifth selection, Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks, his first selection, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, his second selection, Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, his second selection, Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, his first selection, Nikola Vučević of the Orlando Magic, his first selection, and Blake Griffin of the Detroit Pistons, his sixth selection.
On February 1, 2019, Commissioner Adam Silver named Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki as special team roster additions for the game, citing their contributions to the sport. They were selected in the final round of the 2019 All-Star Draft, making each roster consist of 13 players.
Italics indicates leading vote-getters per conference
+Eastern Conference All-StarsPosPlayerTeamNo. of selectionsStartersGKemba WalkerCharlotte Hornets3GKyrie IrvingBoston Celtics6FKawhi LeonardToronto Raptors3FGiannis AntetokounmpoMilwaukee Bucks3CJoel EmbiidPhiladelphia 76ers2ReservesGKyle LowryToronto Raptors5GVictor OladipoIndiana Pacers2FKhris MiddletonMilwaukee Bucks1GBradley BealWashington Wizards2GBen SimmonsPhiladelphia 76ers1FBlake GriffinDetroit Pistons6CNikola VučevićOrlando Magic1GDwyane WadeMiami Heat13GD'Angelo RussellBrooklyn Nets1
+Western Conference All-StarsPosPlayerTeamNo. of selectionsStartersGStephen CurryGolden State Warriors6GJames HardenHouston Rockets7FKevin DurantGolden State Warriors10FPaul GeorgeOklahoma City Thunder6FLeBron JamesLos Angeles Lakers15ReservesGRussell WestbrookOklahoma City Thunder8GDamian LillardPortland Trail Blazers4GKlay ThompsonGolden State Warriors5FAnthony DavisNew Orleans Pelicans6FLaMarcus AldridgeSan Antonio Spurs7CNikola JokićDenver Nuggets1CKarl-Anthony TownsMinnesota Timberwolves2FDirk NowitzkiDallas Mavericks14
Victor Oladipo was unable to play due to a knee injury. D'Angelo Russell was selected as Victor Oladipo's replacement. Special roster addition.
Draft The draft took place on February 7, 2019, and was televised by TNT. This was the first time that the All-Star Game Draft was televised, after the league was criticized for not televising the draft the previous year. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named as captains for receiving the most votes from the West and East, respectively. The first eight players drafted are starters. The next 14 players (seven from each conference) were chosen by NBA head coaches. The final two selections were selected from the special team roster additions to the game. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game, choosing a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced. Silver's selection would join the team that drafted the replaced player. If a replaced player is a starter, the head coach of that team will choose a new starter from his cast of players instead.
James picked Kevin Durant with his first pick, and Antetokounmpo picked Stephen Curry second. After the draft, James traded 16th pick Russell Westbrook to Antetokounmpo for 13th pick Ben Simmons. Team Giannis was the home team due to the Eastern Conference having home team status for the game. +2019 All-Star DraftPickPlayerTeam1Kevin DurantLeBron2Stephen CurryGiannis3Kyrie IrvingLeBron4Joel EmbiidGiannis5Kawhi LeonardLeBron6Paul GeorgeGiannis7James HardenLeBron8Kemba WalkerGiannis9Khris MiddletonGiannis10Anthony DavisLeBron11Nikola JokićGiannis12Klay ThompsonLeBron13Ben Simmons*Giannis14Damian LillardLeBron15Blake GriffinGiannis16Russell Westbrook*LeBron17D'Angelo RussellGiannis18LaMarcus AldridgeLeBron19Nikola VučevićGiannis20Karl-Anthony TownsLeBron21Kyle LowryGiannis22Bradley BealLeBron23Dwyane WadeLeBron24Dirk NowitzkiGiannis *Ben Simmons was traded to Team LeBron and Russell Westbrook went to Team Giannis.
Lineups
+Team GiannisPosPlayerTeamStartersCJoel EmbiidPhiladelphia 76ersFGiannis AntetokounmpoMilwaukee BucksF/GPaul GeorgeOklahoma City ThunderGStephen CurryGolden State WarriorsGKemba WalkerCharlotte HornetsReservesG/FKhris MiddletonMilwaukee BucksCNikola JokicDenver NuggetsGRussell WestbrookOklahoma City ThunderFBlake GriffinDetroit PistonsGD’Angelo RussellBrooklyn NetsCNikola VucevicOrlando MagicGKyle LowryToronto RaptorsF/CDirk NowitzkiDallas MavericksHead coach: Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks)
+Team LeBronPosPlayerTeamStartersFKevin DurantGolden State WarriorsFLeBron JamesLos Angeles LakersF/GKawhi LeonardToronto RaptorsGJames HardenHouston RocketsGKyrie IrvingBoston CelticsReservesF/CAnthony DavisNew Orleans PelicansGKlay ThompsonGolden State WarriorsGDamian LillardPortland Trail BlazersG/FBen SimmonsPhiladelphia 76ersF/CLaMarcus AldridgeSan Antonio SpursCKarl-Anthony TownsMinnesota TimberwolvesGBradley BealWashington WizardsGDwyane WadeMiami HeatHead coach: Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets)
Game
All-Star Weekend NBA on TNT American Express Road Show The 2019 All-Star Weekend began on Thursday, February 14, 2019, with the annual NBA on TNT American Express Road Show, a live broadcast of Inside the NBA that took place at The Fillmore Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was hosted by Ernie Johnson Jr., Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal, with special performances by Chris Tucker (Thursday) and Rae Sremmurd (Friday).
Celebrity Game
Rising Stars Challenge
Skills Challenge
+Contestants Pos. Player Team Height WeightG Mike Conley Jr. Memphis Grizzlies 6–1 175G/F Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks 6–7 218G De'Aaron Fox Sacramento Kings 6–3 175C Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets 7–0 250F Kyle Kuzma Los Angeles Lakers 6–9 220F Jayson Tatum Boston Celtics 6–8 208C Nikola Vučević Orlando Magic 7–0 260G Trae Young Atlanta Hawks 6–2 180
Three Point Contest
+Contestants Pos. Player Team Height Weight First round Final round G/F Joe Harris Brooklyn Nets 6–6 218 25 26 G Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 6–3 190 27 24 G Buddy Hield Sacramento Kings 6–4 214 26 19 G/F Danny Green Toronto Raptors 6–6 215 23 DNQ G Devin Booker Phoenix Suns 6–6 210 23 G Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers 6–3 195 17 F/C Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 7–0 245 17 G Seth Curry Portland Trail Blazers 6–2 185 16 G Kemba Walker Charlotte Hornets 6–1 184 15 G/F Khris Middleton Milwaukee Bucks 6–8 222 11
Slam Dunk Contest
+Contestants Pos. Player Team Height Weight First round Final round G Hamidou Diallo Oklahoma City Thunder 6–5 198 98 88 G Dennis Smith Jr. New York Knicks 6–3 195 95 85 F Miles Bridges Charlotte Hornets 6–7 225 83 DNQ F John Collins Atlanta Hawks 6–10 234 82
References
External links 2019 NBA All-Star Game at nba.com