The NBA and the National Association of Basketball Players They will have a finalized deal for an All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta for next week, according to a League memo shared with the teams and obtained by ESPN.
The one-night event will encompass the East-West Conference game as well as skills competitions, according to the memo.
The NBA and NBPA are finalizing details on the health and safety protocols that will govern All-Star Game participants and players dispersing for the League recess from March 5-10, according to the memo. The All-Star Game and skill competitions will be held at the State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, sources told ESPN.
Photo: Getty.
The NBPA and NBA have been working out the details of a scaled-down event that focuses on transporting players in and out of Atlanta in a significantly shorter window of time than would be required on a typical All-weekend weekend. Star, sources said.
Security protocols, which are expected to include players arriving on Saturday and leaving Sunday night under strict quarantines, are among the details that are still being worked out, the sources said. The note included details on the All-Star break rules that will not include international travel, daily tryouts for players, and a requirement to return to local markets no later than the second day before the team’s first game after the break. , according to the note.
During the All-Star Break, players will be able to travel in the United States, including Hawaii, the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, sources told ESPN. Concern around international travel centers on the possibility that players may not be allowed to re-enter the country as quickly as they wish, or that federal and state regulations on testing and quarantines could leave too much to chance, they said. the sources.
The season will resume with some teams returning to play on March 11.
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The NBA and the union are increasingly confident that enough of the league’s best players are willing to participate in the All-Star Game during a tight midseason break in this condensed pandemic schedule, sources said.
Outside of the conference and the NBA Finals, the All-Star Game is traditionally at the height of league fan engagement, another motivating factor in saving the event this season. The gross financial impact of playing the game is not immediately clear. Because the league shortened the regular season by 10 games and did not have a separate television deal from the All-Star Game, the league could also have generated more revenue for the season by filling the weekend with more regular season games.
The NBA and the NBPA share roughly 50-50 in basketball-related revenue.
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The NBA has made the All-Star Game mandatory for players in the past, but much of the pandemic, including the Orlando restart and the 2020-2021 regular season, have included opt-out clauses. That’s believed to be part of the All-Star Game discussions as well, the sources said.
The NBA has a midseason hiatus scheduled for March 5-10. The league is pursuing a truncated 72-game regular-season schedule, which includes a second-half schedule that has yet to be announced. NBPA President Chris Paul has been a supporter of the Atlanta All-Star Game idea, including a plan to use the game to benefit historically black colleges and universities and COVID-19 relief, sources said.
However, this is an idea that has met with resistance and skepticism from both players and team executives. Even with the protocol safeguards around the game, many see it as an unnecessary risk to the league, players and support staff.
Travel and safety protocols are expected to be similar to a regular-season NBA game – fly the night before in a private jet and fly after the game. Atlanta is home to Turner Sports, which can televise the game without having to move its team out of town.
Even a game with no fans, or low and socially estranged attendance, would still require significant travel for players, support staff and league officials amid the pandemic. The typical hosting of corporate sponsors, a significant financial component of normal All-Star weekends, would not be possible amid the pandemic.
The NBA had originally postponed a February All-Star weekend set for Indianapolis. Since then, Indiana has been rewarded with the 2024 All-Star Game.
