The 2021 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on March 7, 2021, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season. It was the 70th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was hosted at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Hawks. With teams captained by LeBron James and Kevin Durant, Team LeBron won the game 170–150. Giannis Antetokounmpo of Team LeBron was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. The game was originally scheduled to be held in Indianapolis, but it was relocated to Atlanta due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting scheduling conflicts with the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The game was televised nationally on TNT for the 19th consecutive year, and simulcast on TBS for the 7th consecutive year.
This was the third time that Atlanta hosted the All-Star Game; the previous times were 1978 and 2003. This was also the sixth time that the Hawks hosted the All-Star Game, as they had also hosted it in St. Louis in 1958, 1962, and 1965. This was the last All-Star game Marv Albert would call in his career.
Background On December 13, 2017, at a press conference held by the Indiana Pacers, it was announced that the 2021 NBA All-Star Game would be hosted at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. In attendance at the announcement was NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Pacers owner Herb Simon, Governor Eric Holcomb, and Mayor Joe Hogsett. The team had submitted its bid for the game in grand fashion with then-team president and NBA legend Larry Bird delivering the bid in an Dallara IR-05.
On November 25, 2020, the NBA announced that the All-Star Game would be postponed due to NBA schedule changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and potential schedule conflicts with the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (which, for logistical considerations, was relocated in and around the Indianapolis area). Silver confirmed that Indianapolis will instead host the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. On February 4, 2021, the NBA and the NBA Players Association announced the 2021 All-Star Game had been relocated to State Farm Arena in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Hawks.
The NBA placed a focus on supporting African-American communities through the All-Star Game; on February 15, it was announced that the NBA and the NBA Players Association would donate $2.5 million to support equitable COVID-19 care and relief, and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The two teams played in support of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and United Negro College Fund respectively, recorded performances of bands from Florida A&M University and Grambling State University were used for player introductions, and the court was decorated with artwork from students of HBCUs.
COVID-19 protocols All participants in the game were required to test negative on a COVID-19 PCR test before they were transported to Atlanta, and they could only bring limited family and friends. They were required to use private transport provided by the league. All NBA players were subject to daily testing during the All-Star break, even if they were not participating in the game, and they were prohibited from travelling internationally or using public accommodations if they did travel out of their home market. For the first week after the break, all players were subject to gameday testing protocols (one rapid test and two PCR tests) daily, even if they were not scheduled to play that day.
The NBA faced criticism for going on with the All-Star Game, raising the possibility of a superspreading event due to participation by players from multiple teams. The possibility that exposure could also occur at events tied to the game was also raised. Multiple players expressed resentment to the decision, including Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James (who described it as a "slap in the face"), and Kawhi Leonard among others. Critics acknowledged that the All-Star Game has been a major source of revenue for the NBA and its media partners which likely factored into the decision to still go on with the event. On March 8, the NBA reported that there were no positive tests among players and staff present on gameday.
The All-Star Game was closed to the public, and there were no other official festivities tied to the game. Spectators were limited to 1,200–1,500 invited guests and were expected to include vaccinated health care workers and the students and faculty of HBCUs. Mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms publicly stated that "we are in agreement that this is a made-for-TV event only"; she asked fans to refrain from travelling to Atlanta for the game and strongly discouraged the hospitality industry from hosting events relating to the game. This request was enforced by the NBA which sent cease-and-desist notices to various local businesses for using its trademarks to promote events tied to the All-Star Game. Artificial crowd noise and virtual fans on screens along the court, similarly to the NBA Bubble, were also utilized.
Teams
Coaches
The two teams were coached from their team captain's respective conference. Quin Snyder, head coach of the Western Conference leader Utah Jazz, qualified as the head coach of Team LeBron on February 15. Doc Rivers, head coach of the Eastern Conference leader Philadelphia 76ers, also qualified as the head coach of Team Durant on February 19, after their win over the Chicago Bulls.
Rosters As had been the case in previous years, the rosters for the All-Star Game were selected through a voting process. The fans could vote through the NBA website as well as through their Google account. 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 in each conferences were named the All-Star starters and two players in each conferences with the highest votes were named team captains. NBA head coaches voted for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which could be players from their own team. Each coach selected 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 was to be selected, coaches were 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 February 18, 2021. Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets were named the backcourt starters in the East, earning their third and seventh all-star appearances, respectively. Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks were named the frontcourt starters in the East, earning their 11th and fifth all-star appearances, respectively. Joining in the East frontcourt was Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, his fourth selection.
Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors were named to the starting backcourt in the West, earning their second and seventh all-star appearances, respectively. In the frontcourt, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers was named to their fifth and 17th all-star selections, respectively. Joining them was Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, in his third all-star selection.
The All-Star Game reserves were announced on February 23, 2021. The West reserves included Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, his eighth selection; Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers, his seventh selection; Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, his second selection; Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, his sixth selection; Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, his second selection; Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns, his 11th selection; and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans, his first selection.
The East reserves included Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, his first selection; James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets, his ninth selection; Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, his first selection; Julius Randle of the New York Knicks, his first selection; Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, his third selection; Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, his second selection; and Nikola Vučević of the Orlando Magic, his second selection.
Italics indicates leading vote-getters per conference
+Eastern Conference All-StarsPosPlayerTeamNo. of selectionsStartersGBradley BealWashington Wizards3GKyrie IrvingBrooklyn Nets7FGiannis AntetokounmpoMilwaukee Bucks5FKevin DurantBrooklyn Nets11CJoel EmbiidPhiladelphia 76ers4ReservesGJaylen BrownBoston Celtics1GJames HardenBrooklyn Nets9GZach LaVineChicago Bulls1GBen SimmonsPhiladelphia 76ers3FJulius RandleNew York Knicks1FDomantas SabonisIndiana Pacers2FJayson TatumBoston Celtics2CNikola VučevićOrlando Magic2
+Western Conference All-StarsPosPlayerTeamNo. of selectionsStartersGStephen CurryGolden State Warriors7GLuka DončićDallas Mavericks2FLeBron JamesLos Angeles Lakers17FKawhi LeonardLos Angeles Clippers5CNikola JokićDenver Nuggets3ReservesGDevin BookerPhoenix Suns2GMike Conley Utah Jazz1GDamian LillardPortland Trail Blazers6GDonovan MitchellUtah Jazz2GChris PaulPhoenix Suns11FAnthony DavisLos Angeles Lakers8FPaul GeorgeLos Angeles Clippers7FZion WilliamsonNew Orleans Pelicans1CRudy GobertUtah Jazz2
Anthony Davis was unable to play due to a calf injury. Devin Booker was selected as Anthony Davis's replacement. Kevin Durant was unable to play due to a hamstring injury. Domantas Sabonis was selected as Kevin Durant's replacement. Jayson Tatum was selected to start in place of Durant. Devin Booker was unable to play due to knee injury. Mike Conley was selected as Devin Booker's replacement. Zion Williamson started in place of Joel Embiid on Team Durant, who was out for the game due to contact tracing in addition to his teammate Ben Simmons.
Draft The NBA All-Star Draft took place on March 4, 2021. LeBron James and Kevin Durant were named captains, as they both received the most votes from the West and East, respectively. This was the fourth straight year that James was named an All-Star team captain, while this was Durant's first selection as team captain. The first eight players that were drafted were starters. The next fourteen players (seven from each conference) were chosen by NBA head coaches. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver selected replacements for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game, choosing a player from the same conference as the player who was being replaced. Silver's selection joined the team that drafted the replaced player. If a replaced player was a starter, the head coach of that team would choose a new starter from their cast of players instead.
James picked Giannis Antetokounmpo with his first pick, and Durant picked Kyrie Irving second. Team Durant was the home team due to the Eastern Conference having home team status for the game.
+2021 All-Star DraftPickPlayerTeam1Giannis AntetokounmpoLeBron2Kyrie IrvingDurant3Stephen CurryLeBron4Joel EmbiidDurant5Luka DončićLeBron6Kawhi LeonardDurant7Nikola JokićLeBron8Bradley BealDurant9Jayson TatumDurant10James HardenDurant11Damian LillardLeBron12Devin BookerDurant13Ben SimmonsLeBron14Zion WilliamsonDurant15Chris PaulLeBron16Zach LaVineDurant17Jaylen BrownLeBron18Julius RandleDurant19Paul GeorgeLeBron20Nikola VučevićDurant21Domantas SabonisLeBron22Donovan MitchellDurant23Rudy GobertLeBron
Lineups