The 2008 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2008, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season. It was the 57th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, home of the New Orleans Hornets. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 134–128. LeBron James was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, his second time winning the award.East All-Stars 134, West All-Stars 128 This was the first NBA All-Star Game that was hosted by New Orleans, and was the city's first major professional sporting event (outside of regular season games) since the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The city was awarded in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on May 22, 2006. The other reported contenders for the 2008 contest was Air Canada Centre at Toronto, who withdrew the bid early in 2005.
The East led early but blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter; ultimately, they pulled out the win due to the strength of Ray Allen and James. Allen scored 28 points in the game, 14 of them coming in the deciding quarter, and James finished with a near triple-double of 27 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds.East All-Stars 134, West All-Stars 128
The inaugural NBA Development League Dream Factory Friday Night was modeled after the popular NBA All-Star Saturday Night. It included perennial NBA fan favorite events such as a Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk competition, while introducing H.O.R.S.E. and an interactive game of Hot-Shot with fans. Twelve D-League players, including an NBA-assigned player and five others with NBA experience, took to Center Court to showcase their skills throughout the evening's competitions.
All of the 2008 All-Star participants joined over 2,500 members of the NBA Family for the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service. The volunteers participated in a variety of service projects at ten different sites throughout New Orleans.
The All-Star Game
Eastern Conference roster The Boston Celtics, the team with the league's best record, came into New Orleans with three players. Kevin Garnett, top vote-getter in the league with 2,399,148 votes, was selected as a starter, while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen (replacing injured Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler)Boston's Allen named All-Star replacement for Washington's Butler were selected as reserves by the coaches of the Eastern ConferenceGarnett, Kobe, Iverson headline All-Star starters roster Garnett did not play due to injury and Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh replaced him as starting power forward. Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace replaced Chris Bosh as the backup power forward. The Pistons, who at the time had the second-best record in the league, also had guards Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton participating.
Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James and Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade started for the fourth straight year and fourth overall for the East with two million votes each. Center Dwight Howard was voted to be a starting All-Star for the first time in his career after averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds for the first half of the season. Shaquille O'Neal was not voted in as a center for the first time in 15 years.Riley suggests Shaq should be given All-Star role; O'Neal disagrees Jason Kidd was voted in as the starting point guard for the East amid speculation that he would be traded to the Western conference (Dallas Mavericks).
Western Conference roster Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, 2007 All-Star MVP, was the top vote-getter in the West with nearly 2,000,500. However days before the game, he was examined by Lakers' doctors and revealed a torn ligament in his right pinky finger. Kobe will play in All-Star game Deciding to put off required surgery until after the season, the Lakers appealed to the league to replace Bryant but league policy stated Bryant must play after playing in the last game before the break.
Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson was voted an All-Star for the second time since moving to Denver.Iverson, Anthony voted in as All-Star Game starters Along with him, teammate Carmelo Anthony earned a starting nod at forward. Power forward Tim Duncan made his tenth straight appearance and center Yao Ming his sixth (Yao Ming was voted to All-Star Game 2007 but did not play). Three teams, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and New Orleans Hornets, had two representations at the All-Star Game with Iverson/Anthony, Nash/Stoudemire, and Paul/West.
Rosters
+Western Conference All-Stars Pos. Player Team # of selections Total votes Starters G Allen Iverson Denver Nuggets 9 1,203,152 G Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers 10 2,004,940 F Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets 2 1,723,701 F Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 10 1,712,800 C Yao Ming Houston Rockets 6 1,709,180 Reserves F Carlos Boozer Utah Jazz 2 — G Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 6 — F Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 7 — G Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 1 — G Brandon Roy Portland Trail Blazers 1 — C Amare Stoudemire Phoenix Suns 3 — F David West New Orleans Hornets 1 — Head coach: Byron Scott (New Orleans Hornets)
+Eastern Conference All-Stars Pos. Player Team # of selections Total votes Starters G Jason Kidd New Jersey Nets 9 1,246,386 G Dwyane Wade Miami Heat 4 1,608,260 F LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 4 2,108,831 F Kevin Garnett Boston Celtics 11 2,399,148 C Dwight Howard Orlando Magic 2 2,066,991 Reserves G Ray Allen Boston Celtics 8 — G Chauncey Billups Detroit Pistons 3 — F Caron Butler Washington Wizards 2 — F Chris Bosh Toronto Raptors 3 — G Richard Hamilton Detroit Pistons 3 — F Antawn Jamison Washington Wizards 2 — G Joe Johnson Atlanta Hawks 2 — F Paul Pierce Boston Celtics 6 — C Rasheed Wallace Detroit Pistons 4 — Head coach: Doc Rivers (Boston Celtics)
Unable to participate due to injury. Chris Bosh was named to the starting lineup due to a Kevin Garnett injury Unable to participate due to injury. Ray Allen was named to the roster in place of Caron Butler. Unable to participate due to injury. Rasheed Wallace was named to the roster in place of Kevin Garnett. Kobe Bryant played three minutes due to ligament tear in pinkyInjured Kobe sees little playing time
Coaches
The Eastern Conference team was coached by Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics. He clinched it nearly a month before the game on January 21, against the New York Knicks.Celtics coach Rivers earns opportunity to coach East All-Stars The Celtics entered All-Star Weekend with a 41–9 record, the best record and win percentage in the league.
The Western Conference team was coached by Byron Scott of the New Orleans Hornets. Scott clinched the coaching spot on January 31, when the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in Boston.Scott to coach Western All-Stars on home court The Hornets entered All-Star Weekend with a 36–15 record, and the best winning percentage in the Conference at .706.
2008 NBA All-Star Game Boxscore NBA All-Star East Pos Player FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A Off Reb Def Reb Tot Reb Ast PF ST TO BS BA Pts G J. Kidd 1–2 0–1 0–0 0 4 4 10 0 4 1 0 0 2 G D. Wade 7–12 0–1 0–2 1 3 4 3 1 0 2 1 1 14 F C. Bosh 7–15 0–0 0–2 2 5 7 1 1 0 1 0 2 14 F L. James 12–22 2–7 1–1 1 7 8 9 3 2 4 2 1 27 C D. Howard 7–7 0–0 2–3 5 4 9 3 4 3 1 1 0 16 R. Allen 10–14 5–9 3–5 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 28 C. Billups 3–10 0–6 0–2 2 5 7 1 1 0 1 0 2 6 R. Hamilton 4–9 1–1 0–0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 9 R. Wallace 1–5 1–5 0–0 2 3 5 0 2 1 1 2 0 3 J. Johnson 1–2 1–1 0–0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 3 P. Pierce 5–9 0–3 0–0 0 4 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 10 A. Jamison 1–3 0–2 0–0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2
NBA All-Star West Pos Player FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A Off Reb Def Reb Tot Reb Ast PF ST TO BS BA Pts G A. Iverson 3–7 0–0 1–2 1 1 2 6 0 4 6 1 0 7 G K. Bryant 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 F T. Duncan 2–7 0–1 0–0 4 5 9 1 1 1 4 1 0 4 F C. Anthony 8–17 0–0 2–3 5 2 7 1 0 0 2 0 1 18 C M. Yao 2–5 0–2 2–2 1 4 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 6 B. Roy 8–10 2–3 0–0 1 8 9 5 2 1 0 1 0 18 C. Paul 7–14 2–6 0–0 2 1 3 14 5 4 2 0 1 16 D. Nowitzki 5–14 1–4 2–2 1 3 4 2 0 0 2 0 1 13 A. Stoudemire 8–11 1–2 1–3 0 5 5 0 2 1 1 1 0 18 S. Nash 4–8 0–1 0–0 0 0 0 6 3 0 1 1 0 8 C. Boozer 7–15 0–0 0–2 4 6 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 14 D. West 3–6 0–0 0–0 2 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 3 6
All-Star Weekend
T-Mobile Rookie Challenge The Sophomores defeated the Rookies 136–109. During the first half of the game Daniel Gibson tied the record of Kyle Korver by hitting seven three-pointers (Korver's record was for the entire game). He later set the whole-game record in the second half with eleven total three-pointers, finishing the game shooting 11–20 from three-point range. Gibson was named MVP of the game, finishing with 33 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
+Rookies Pos. Player Team PG Mike Conley Jr. Memphis Grizzlies SF Kevin Durant Seattle SuperSonics SG Jeff Green Seattle SuperSonics C Al Horford Atlanta Hawks PF Yi Jianlian Milwaukee Bucks SF Jamario Moon Toronto Raptors SG Juan Carlos Navarro Memphis Grizzlies PF Luis Scola Houston Rockets C Sean Williams New Jersey Nets
+Sophomores Pos. Player Team PF LaMarcus Aldridge Portland Trail Blazers PF Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors SG Ronnie Brewer Utah Jazz PG Jordan Farmar Los Angeles Lakers SF Rudy Gay Memphis Grizzlies PG Daniel Gibson Cleveland Cavaliers PF Paul Millsap Utah Jazz PG Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics SG Brandon Roy Portland Trail Blazers
Sprite Slam Dunk Contest Gerald Green returned to defend his crown won in last year's All-Star game. Young NBA stars Rudy Gay, Dwight Howard and Jamario Moon were also invited. What made the Slam Dunk contest unique in 2008 was the introduction of the fan vote. While judges (in this particular contest, Karl Malone, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins and Dominique Wilkins) still scored dunks on a scale from one to fifty and selected those who would move on to the next round, fans had the last word. NBA viewers for the first time could decide the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk contest, under the tag line "They Dunk. You Decide." For five minutes after the final round, polls were open on NBA.com and through SMS TXT and the dunker with the most votes at the end of the time limit was the winner. Dwight Howard won the contest, grabbing 78% of fan votes.
+Contestants Pos. Player Team Ht. Wt. SF Rudy Gay Memphis Grizzlies 6–9 220 SG Gerald Green Minnesota Timberwolves 6–8 200 C Dwight Howard Orlando Magic 6–11 265 SF Jamario Moon Toronto Raptors 6–8 205
Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout Jason Kapono became the first back-to-back winner of the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout since Peja Stojaković won in 2002 and 2003. Kapono also tied the all-time record set in 1986 by Craig Hodges by scoring 25 points in the final round.
+Contestants Pos. Player Team Made Att. Pct. PG Daniel Gibson Cleveland Cavaliers 104 222 .468 SG Richard Hamilton Detroit Pistons 43 92 .467 SF Jason Kapono Toronto Raptors 50 98 .510 PG Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 101 216 .468 PF Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 41 139 .295 SF Peja Stojaković New Orleans Hornets 122 264 .462
Kobe Bryant was looking to be the first player to win a Slam Dunk contest and a Three-Point Shootout title until he was replaced by Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki due to injury.Kobe, Nash, Stojakovic among 3-point shooting contest participantsNowitzki in for Bryant in Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
PlayStation Skills Challenge
Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams won the Skills Challenge, with a first round time of 31.2 seconds and a record finish in 25.5 in his second run. For the first time since 2005, Dwyane Wade did not win the contest. He finished with a low 53.9 seconds, ending his streak at two. Jason Kidd, winner of the event in 2003, finished at 40 seconds. Chris Paul advanced to the finals with 29.9 seconds in the first go-around, but failed to match Williams in the end. http://www.nba.com/allstar2008/skills_challenge/ Deron Dominates Skills Challenge