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The 2005 NBA All-Star Game Weekend took place at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado which is the home of Denver Nuggets. It took place from February 18 to February. The first day of the weekend had a celebrity game and rookie challenge, which was a competition that placed the best First year Rookie against the best second year Rookie. On the Saturday of the All-Star weekend was the dunk and three-point shooting contest and finally they had the All-Star game on Sunday. This time it is the 54th NBA All-star game. Each player was selected by fans and coaches. Many players either made their all-star debut or a familiar face had been traded to another team and started a new role. Shaquille O'Neal was a starter for the East because Los Angeles Lakers traded him to Miami Heat. Antawn Jamison, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James made their All-star debut for the Eastern team. Amar'e Stoudemire, Gilbert Arenas, Manu Ginobili and Rashard Lewis also made their All-Star debut at this time.

Players


The 2005 NBA All-Star introduced international players who have become today’s superstars. Amongst the players selected were: Žydrūnas Ilgauskas (Lithuania), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) along with voted-starters Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Yao Ming (China). This game tied the 2003 and 2004 All-Star Game record for the most international All-Stars in one year.

The method that NBA officials use to choose the starting five players is by allowing the fans to vote on who they want to see on the court. The final decision is at the coaches’ discretion. In the west Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) is the most voted player, he got 2,558,578 votes and Shaquille O’Neal (Miami Heat) came in first in the East division, with 2,488,089 votes. Yao Ming received the most votes of any player in this time All-Star Game.

MVP
Allen Iverson was named the game's MVP again since 2001 NBA All-Star Game. He had 15 points, nine assists and five steals to help the eastern team win with a score of 125-115. The top scorer was Ray Allen of the Seattle Supersonics with 17 points.

Coaches


The coaches for the All-Star game were the head coaches who led the teams with the best winning percentages in their conference through the games of February 6, 2005. Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs clinched the West position after a win on January 20. Stan Van Gundy of the Miami Heat took control of the East team.

Western Conference
''* starters