2024 NBA All-Star Game

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on February 18, 2024, during the National Basketball Association's 2023–24 season. It was the 73rd edition of the NBA All-Star Game. It was hosted by the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This was the second time that Indianapolis hosted the All-Star Game; the last time the game was played in the city was in 1985 at the Hoosier Dome. This year's All-Star Game featured the return of the Eastern Conference versus Western Conference format that was last used in 2017. The game was televised by TNT for the 22nd consecutive year. All-Star Voting began on December 19, 2023, and ended on January 20, 2024.

The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 211–186. This was the most points ever scored by a team at an All-Star Game, and the most combined points scored by both teams (397), as well as the first time a team scored 200 or more points in an All-Star Game. The Eastern conference made 42 three point field goals, breaking the previous record of 35 made threes set by Team LeBron in the 2019 All-Star Game. The teams made a combined 67 three-point field goals, also a record.

Background
The announcement of the site selection was initially made on December 13, 2017, at a press conference held by the Indiana Pacers. In attendance at the announcement were NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Pacers owner Herb Simon, Indiana governor Eric Holcomb, and Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett. The team had submitted its bid for the game with then-team president and NBA legend Larry Bird delivering the bid in a specially livered Dallara IR-07. On November 25, 2020, the NBA announced that the Pacers would host the All-Star Game in 2024 instead of 2021 due to NBA schedule changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and schedule conflicts with the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, which was held in several venues around Indianapolis and central Indiana.

Additional events including a celebrity game and practices open to the public were held at the adjacent Indiana Convention Center, while all Saturday night events took place at Lucas Oil Stadium on a glass basketball court. The city of Indianapolis hoped to see an 8-figure ($10,000,000) economic impact surrounding the game.

Format change
On October 25, 2023, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the 2024 All-Star Game would return to the Eastern Conference versus Western Conference format that was last used in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, alongside the removal of the 24-point Elam Ending that was first used in 2020. The charity aspect would be retained, with the team that scores the most points in each quarter winning a cash prize that would go to their chosen charity.

Coaches
Doc Rivers, coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for five games after the firing of former coach Adrian Griffin, qualified as the head coach of Eastern Conference on February 3. Although the Boston Celtics clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, their coach, Joe Mazzulla, was ineligible to coach in the All-Star Game because he had coached in the 2023 game and league rules prohibited a coach from coaching in consecutive All-Star Games. Chris Finch, coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, qualified as the head coach of Western Conference on February 4.

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 the two players in each conference 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 January 25, 2024. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers and Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks were announced as the starting guards in the East, earning their second and eighth all-star appearances respectively. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics were named the frontcourt starters in the East, earning their eighth and fifth all-star appearances respectively. Joining the East frontcourt was Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, his seventh selection.

In the West, Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder were named to the starting backcourt, earning their fifth and second all-star appearances respectively. In the frontcourt, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers were named to their 14th and 20th all-star appearances respectively. James' 20th All-Star selection set an NBA record for most All-Star selections, breaking a record he previously shared with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. With his selection, James also joins the short list of players with 20 or more All-Star selections which includes Hall of Fame hockey player Gordie Howe and Baseball Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Stan Musial. Joining the West frontcourt was Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, earning his sixth selection.

The All-Star Game reserves were announced on February 1, 2024. The West reserves included Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, his fourth selection; Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, his tenth selection; Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, his ninth selection; Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, his second selection; Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers, his ninth selection; Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, his sixth selection; and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, his fourth selection.

The East reserves included Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, his third selection; Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic, his first selection; Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, his third selection; Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, his first selection; Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers, his first selection; Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, his fifth selection; and Julius Randle of the New York Knicks, his third selection.

After injuries were reported from Joel Embiid and Julius Randle, the NBA announced that Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors would replace them on the Eastern Conference All-Star roster.


 * Italics indicates leading vote-getters per conference

Joel Embiid was unable to play due to a leg injury. Julius Randle was unable to play due to a shoulder injury. Trae Young was selected as Joel Embiid's replacement. Scottie Barnes was selected as Julius Randle's replacement. Bam Adebayo was selected to start in place of Joel Embiid.

Game
The 2024 All-Star Game reverted to the pre-2018 format, with two teams representing the two conferences playing in four 12-minute quarters. The charity aspect was retained, in which the team that scored the most points in each quarter received a cash prize that would be donated to a designated charity.

The Eastern Conference All-Stars won the game, 211–186, the Eastern Conference's first win in the All-Star Game since 2014. The game broke numerous records: It was the first NBA All-Star Game in which a team reached the 200-point mark, Tyrese Haliburton making a three-pointer to reach the mark. The East and the West scored a combined total of 397 points, eclipsing the previous record of 374 set in 2017, with the East hitting a new record 42 3-pointers, breaking the previous mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019. Entering halftime, both teams had scored a combined 193 points, narrowly beating the previous record of 191 set the previous year, with the East tying its individual team record with 104. Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, in his first All-Star Game as a starter, was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP. Having previously won the Three-Point Contest, he was the first player to win the Three-Point Contest and the All-Star Game MVP in the same weekend.

Stephen vs. Sabrina
Following the Three Point Contest on Saturday, February 17, Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu competed in a bonus head-to-head 3-point challenge, the first such challenge pitting an NBA player against a WNBA player during All-Star Weekend (not considering team events). Ionescu had won the Three Point Contest during the 2023 WNBA All Star Weekend in Las Vegas with a second-round score of 37, which surpassed the NBA record of 31 that Curry set in 2021 in Atlanta and that Haliburton matched in 2023 in Salt Lake City.

Both players shot from the NBA 3-point line, but Curry used NBA-sized basketballs and Ionescu used WNBA-sized basketballs.