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The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are moving towards a deal for an All-Star game on March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, a one-night event that includes a game between the Eastern Conferences and the United ‘West and skills competitions, sources said. ESPN.
While a formal agreement has yet to be finalized, the NBA and NBPA have been working on the details of a scaled-down event focused on transporting players to and from Atlanta in a significantly longer time frame. shorter than what would be required on a typical All-Star weekend, sources say. Security protocols are among the details still being worked out.
The NBA and the union are increasingly confident that a sufficient number of the league’s top players are ready to participate during a tight mid-season break in this condensed pandemic schedule, sources said. Outside of the NBA conference and Finals, the All-Star Game has traditionally been at the top of fan engagement for the league – another motivator to save the event this season.
The gross financial impact of playing the game is immediately uncertain. Because the league has cut the regular season to 10 games and does not have a separate television deal for the All-Star Game, the league could also have generated more revenue by filling the weekend with more season games. regular. The NBA and NBPA share roughly 50-50 of basketball-related income.
The NBA has made the All-Star event mandatory for players in the past, but exclusion clauses have been included in much of the pandemic, including the Orlando reboot and the 2020-2021 regular season. It is believed to be part of the All-Star Game discussions as well, sources said.
The NBA has a mid-season 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 championed the idea of the Atlanta All-Star Game, including a plan to use the game to benefit historically black colleges and universities and help with COVID-19, have sources said. Nonetheless, it is an idea that has met with resistance and skepticism from players and team leaders. Even with protocol saves around the game, many see it as an unnecessary risk to the league, players, and support staff. Travel and security protocols should be similar to a regular season NBA game – fly the night before in a private plane and fly after the game.
Atlanta is the home of Turner Sports, who can televise the game without having to send their team out of town. Even a game without supporters – or with sparse, socially distant attendance – would still require significant travel for players, support staff and officials in the pandemic-stricken league. The typical hosting of corporate sponsors, a major financial component of normal All-Star weekends, would not be possible in the midst of the pandemic.
The NBA initially postponed a February All-Star weekend for Indianapolis. Indiana has since been awarded the 2024 All-Star Game.
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