SPORTSCLOPEDIA 38: NBA ALL-STAR GAME FACTS AND FIGURES
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 20 Feb 2023
Jayson Tatum dominated the NBA All-Star Game 2023, setting the record for the most points scored in the annual extravaganza with 55 as Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-175 on Sunday night at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City. He broke Anthony Davis' record of 52 scored during the 2017 All-Star Game.
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Tatum added 10 rebounds and six assists and won the MVP. Donovan Mitchell, who spent the first five seasons of his career in Utah before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers last offseason, added 40 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals for Team Giannis.
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The only other player to score at least 50 in an All-Star was but Stephen Curry who had a 50-point performance in the 2022 All-Star Game.
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The NBA All-Star Game player draft was moved to immediately before the Sunday game. Team captains Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James first selected the reserves for their squads, then chose the players who are identified as starters.
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Luka Doncic, a starter in yet another All-Star Game, scored just four points on Sunday for Team LeBron. That pulled down his All-Star scoring average, which was at a low eight points per All-Star Game before this game. Nikola Jokic also scored just four points. They said they are not suited for this type of game.
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LeBron James has tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with his 19th NBA All-Star selection and with his appearance in Salt Lake City, he surpassed Abdul-Jabbar for the most NBA All-Star Games played with 19.
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Two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets turns 28 years old on February 19 and will become the first player to start an NBA All-Star Game on his birthday.
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When Salt Lake City last hosted NBA All-Star 30 years ago, Karl Malone and John Stockton of the hometown Jazz became the first teammates to share the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award.
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Nine members of the 1992 Dream Team were NBA All-Stars in the 1992-93 season: Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and John Stockton.
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The 2023 NBA All-Star Game featured a record six international starters and a record-tying nine international players overall.
Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks; Australia), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia) and Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz; Finland).
Reserves: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder; Canada), Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania) and Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon).
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The first All-Star Game was played at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951, where the Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team, 111–94. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley was named as the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, and the All-Star Game drew an attendance of 10,094, much bigger than that season's average attendance of 3,500.
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