# 2015 NBA All-Star Game

The 2015 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2015, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season. It was the 64th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 163–158. Russell Westbrook was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. The game was televised nationally by TNT and TBS in the United States, and TSN in Canada.
The All-Star Weekend festivities were jointly hosted by the league's two New York City teams, the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA awarded the game to New York City in 2013, and the logo for the 2015 All-Star Game was unveiled on July 10, 2014. The All-Star Game itself was played at the Knicks' home arena, Madison Square Garden; the current Garden last hosted the game in 1998, and the Knicks' previous home, the third Madison Square Garden, hosted three earlier All-Star Games. The Saturday All-Star activities were held at the Nets' home arena, the Barclays Center; the Nets previously hosted the 1982 All-Star Game at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

## All-Star Game
### Coaches

Mike Budenholzer, coach of the Atlanta Hawks, and Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, were selected as the East and West head coach, respectively.

### Roster

The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards and three frontcourt players who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. NBA head coaches voted for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which could be players on 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. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors topped the ballots with 1,513,324 votes, which earned him a starting position as a guard in the Western Conference team. Kobe Bryant earned a record 17th consecutive All-Star selection, and Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, and Blake Griffin completed the Western Conference starting positions. The first-time All-Stars in the West were the Warriors’ Klay Thompson and the Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins, who was selected as a replacement for the injured Bryant.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were represented by two players: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, both of whom were reserves. Also sending a pair of players to the All-Star Game as reserves were the Portland Trail Blazers, represented by LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard. The remaining Western Conference reserves were Thompson, Cousins, Tim Duncan, James Harden, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook. Golden State had two All-Star representatives for the first time since 1993, when Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin were both All-Stars. It was also the first time the Warriors had a pair of starters since 1967, when Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond were both starters.
The Eastern Conference's leading vote-getter was Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, who finished with 1,470,483 votes. John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Pau Gasol, and Carmelo Anthony completed the Eastern Conference starting positions. The Eastern Conference team featured four first-time selections: Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver. The Atlanta Hawks were represented by four players: Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver, all of whom were reserves. Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Kyrie Irving completed the remaining Eastern Conference reserves.
The Gasol brothers Marc and Pau were selected as the starting center of the West and the East respectively, marking the first time in NBA history, two brothers were picked to start in an All-Star Game. They were also the first brothers to jump center for the opening tip of an All-Star Game. The Gasols were also the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Tom and Dick Van Arsdale played in the 1970 and 1971 games.
Eastern Conference All-Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team | No. of selections | Votes |
| Starters |||||
| G | John Wall | Washington Wizards | 2 | 886,368 |
| G | Kyle Lowry | Toronto Raptors | 1 | 805,290 |
| F | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 11 | 1,470,483 |
| F | Pau Gasol | Chicago Bulls | 5 | 974,177 |
| F | Carmelo Anthony | New York Knicks | 8 | 647,005 |
| Reserves |||||
| C | Al Horford | Atlanta Hawks | 3 | — |
| F | Chris Bosh | Miami Heat | 10 | — |
| F | Paul Millsap | Atlanta Hawks | 2 | — |
| G | Jimmy Butler | Chicago Bulls | 1 | — |
| G | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat | 11 | — |
| G | Jeff Teague | Atlanta Hawks | 1 | — |
| G | Kyrie Irving | Cleveland Cavaliers | 3 | — |
| G | Kyle Korver | Atlanta Hawks | 1 | — |
| Head coach: Mike Budenholzer (Atlanta Hawks) |||||
Western Conference All-Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team | No. of selections | Votes |
| Starters |||||
| G | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 2 | 1,513,324 |
| G | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | 17 | 1,152,402 |
| F | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans | 2 | 1,369,911 |
| C | Marc Gasol | Memphis Grizzlies | 2 | 795,121 |
| F | Blake Griffin | Los Angeles Clippers | 5 | 700,615 |
| Reserves |||||
| C | LaMarcus Aldridge | Portland Trail Blazers | 4 | — |
| F | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs | 15 | — |
| F | Kevin Durant | Oklahoma City Thunder | 6 | — |
| G | Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors | 1 | — |
| G | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 4 | — |
| G | James Harden | Houston Rockets | 3 | — |
| G | Chris Paul | Los Angeles Clippers | 8 | — |
| C | DeMarcus Cousins | Sacramento Kings | 1 | — |
| G | Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers | 2 | — |
| F | Dirk Nowitzki | Dallas Mavericks | 13 | — |
| Head coach: Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) |||||
* INJ^ ^ ^ ^ Bryant, Davis, Griffin and Wade were unable to participate due to injury.
* REP1^ Cousins was named as Bryant's replacement.
* REP2^ Lillard was named as Griffin's replacement.
* REP3^ Korver was named as Wade's replacement.
* REP4^ Nowitzki was named as Davis' replacement.
* ST^ ^ ^ Western Conference head coach Steve Kerr chose Aldridge, Harden and Thompson to start in place of the injured Bryant, Davis and Griffin.

### Game

* TNT
* February 15, 2015 8:30 p.m. ET
* Box score
Western Conference 163, Eastern Conference 158 :
| Scoring by quarter: 47–36, 36–46, 39–40, 41–36 |||
| Pts: Russell Westbrook 41 Rebs: Marc Gasol 10 Asts: Chris Paul 15 | Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: Pau Gasol 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 |
* Madison Square Garden, New York Attendance: 17,198 Referees:
* Derrick Stafford
* Pat Fraher
* Sean Wright
Russell Westbrook scored 41 points and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. He scored 27 points in 11 minutes in the first half, setting an All-Star record for points in a half. He finished one point shy of the All-Star game record set by Wilt Chamberlain (42) in 1962.

## All-Star Weekend
### Celebrity Game

The 2015 Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was played on Friday, February 13, 2015. It was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, home of the New York Knicks. This was the first celebrity game played at an NBA arena in the event's history. The game was televised nationally by ESPN.
This game featured 20 players including Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, 2014 Little League World Series female pitcher Mo'ne Davis, WNBA player Skylar Diggins, Paralympic athlete Blake Leeper, NBA hall of famer Chris Mullin, and Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. This game also featured two All-Star Celebrity Game MVPs; 2010 winner Michael Rapaport and 2012, 2013, and 2014 winner Kevin Hart.
ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg coached the West and East teams respectively. The West team assistant coaches were film director Spike Lee and tennis legend John McEnroe. New York Knicks' small forward Carmelo Anthony and former Baylor Bears center Isaiah Austin was the assistant coaches for the East team. Actress and singer Keke Palmer sang the national anthem, and Canadian reggae fusion band Magic! performed at halftime.
Although the West led by Atlanta Dream point guard Shoni Schimmel with 17 points beat the East 57–51, Kevin Hart of the East who scored 15 points and won the MVP award. This was Hart's fourth MVP award in a row, a record for the Celebrity Game. Hart would then announce his retirement from the annual celebrity game.
* February 13, 2015
* Recap
* Madison Square Garden, New York City
West :
| Player | Background |
| Anthony Anderson (2) | Actor |
| Win Butler | Singer |
| Nick Cannon (7) | TV personality, actor |
| Mo'ne Davis | Little League pitcher |
| Skylar Diggins (2) | WNBA player |
| Ansel Elgort | Actor |
| Chris Mullin (4) | Former NBA player |
| Robert Pera | Memphis Grizzlies owner |
| Sarah Silverman | Comedian, actress |
| Jesse Williams (3) | Actor |
| Head coach: Mike Golic (ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike co-host) ||
| Assistant coach: Spike Lee (film director, actor) ||
| Assistant coach: Pete Sampras (former professional tennis player) ||
East :
| Player | Background |
| Abhishek Bachchan | Bollywood actor |
| Chadwick Boseman | Actor |
| Tina Charles | WNBA player |
| Common (6) | Rapper, actor |
| Kevin Hart (5) | Comedian, actor |
| Allan Houston | Former NBA playet |
| Kristen Ledlow (2) | NBA Inside Stuff co-host |
| Blake Leeper | Paralympic athlete |
| Michael Rapaport (5) | Actor |
| Shoni Schimmel | WNBA player |
| Head coach: Mike Greenberg (ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike co-host) ||
| Assistant coach: Carmelo Anthony (NBA player, New York Knicks) ||
| Assistant coach: Isaiah Austin (former Baylor Bears player) ||

### Rising Stars Challenge

Team World :
| Pos. | Player | Team | R/S |
| C | Steven Adams | Oklahoma City Thunder | Sophomore |
| G/F | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | Sophomore |
| F | Bojan Bogdanović | Brooklyn Nets | Rookie |
| C | Gorgui Dieng | Minnesota Timberwolves | Sophomore |
| G | Danté Exum | Utah Jazz | Rookie |
| C | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | Sophomore |
| F | Nikola Mirotić | Chicago Bulls | Rookie |
| C/F | Kelly Olynyk | Boston Celtics | Sophomore |
| G | Dennis Schröder | Atlanta Hawks | Sophomore |
| F/G | Andrew Wiggins | Minnesota Timberwolves | Rookie |
| C | Jusuf Nurkić$^/$ | Denver Nuggets | Rookie |
| G | Matthew Dellavedova | Cleveland Cavaliers | Sophomore |
| F | Kostas Papanikolaou | Houston Rockets | Rookie |
| Head coach: Kenny Atkinson (Atlanta Hawks) |||||
Team USA :
| Pos. | Player | Team | R/S |
| G | Trey Burke | Utah Jazz | Sophomore |
| G | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Detroit Pistons | Sophomore |
| G | Michael Carter-Williams | Philadelphia 76ers | Sophomore |
| G | Zach LaVine | Minnesota Timberwolves | Rookie |
| G/F | Shabazz Muhammad | Minnesota Timberwolves | Sophomore |
| C | Nerlens Noel | Philadelphia 76ers | Rookie |
| G | Victor Oladipo | Orlando Magic | Sophomore |
| G | Elfrid Payton | Orlando Magic | Rookie |
| C/F | Mason Plumlee | Brooklyn Nets | Sophomore |
| C/F | Cody Zeller | Charlotte Hornets | Sophomore |
| F | Robert Covington | Philadelphia 76ers | Sophomore |
| Head coach: Alvin Gentry (Golden State Warriors) ||||
^INJ1 Adams was unable to participate due to injury. ^REP1 Nurkić was named as Adams' replacement. ^INJ2 Carter-Williams was unable to participate due to injuries. ^REP2 Covington was named as Carter-Williams' replacement. ^INJ3 Olynyk was unable to participate due to injury. ^REP3 Dellavedova was named as Olynyk's replacement. ^OUT Nurkić decided to not participate for personal reasons. ^REP4 Papanikolaou was named as Nurkić's replacement.
* TNT
* February 13 9:00 p.m. ET
* Boxscore
Team World 121, Team USA 112 :
| Scoring by half: 69–67, 52–45 |||
| Pts: Andrew Wiggins 22 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 12 Asts: Dennis Schröder 9 | Pts: Oladipo, LaVine 22 Rebs: Mason Plumlee 9 Asts: Oladipo, Burke 4 |
* Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York Attendance: 15,451 Referees:
* #73 Tre Maddox
* #77 Karl Lane
* #79 Kevin Scott
The World team won against the U.S. 121–112 at the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend. Canada's Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, and Rudy Gobert added 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Brooklyn's Bojan Bogdanovic of Croatia, and Chicago's Nikola Mirotić of Montenegro added 16 points each for the World team. Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic and Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves led the U.S. team with 22 points each. Andrew Wiggins, the 2014 NBA draft 1st overall pick, won the game's MVP award.

### Shooting Stars Competition

Contestants :
| Team Name | Members | Team | First round | Final round |
| Team Bosh | Chris Bosh | Miami Heat | 30.8 | 57.6 |
| Team Bosh | Swin Cash | New York Liberty | 30.8 | 57.6 |
| Team Bosh | Dominique Wilkins | Atlanta Hawks legend | 30.8 | 57.6 |
| Team Westbrook | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 35.2 | DNF |
| Team Westbrook | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | 35.2 | DNF |
| Team Westbrook | Penny Hardaway | Orlando Magic legend | 35.2 | DNF |
| Team Curry | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 47.0 | – |
| Team Curry | Sue Bird | Seattle Storm | 47.0 | – |
| Team Curry | Dell Curry | Charlotte Hornets legend | 47.0 | – |
| Team Millsap | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans | 51.4 | – |
| Team Millsap | Paul Millsap | Atlanta Hawks | 51.4 | – |
| Team Millsap | Elena Delle Donne | Chicago Sky | 51.4 | – |
| Team Millsap | Scottie Pippen | Chicago Bulls legend | 51.4 | – |
    a.$^1$ $^2$ Anthony Davis was replaced by Paul Millsap.
    b. NBA Legends wore a current era jersey of the team best associated with the player, except for Dell Curry, a special exception because the old Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans in 2002 and became the Pelicans in 2013. Curry's official statistics belong to the Pelicans, but represented the new Charlotte Hornets, formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats from 2004–2014, and wore their 2014 jersey in the contest.

### Skills Challenge

Contestants :
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight |
| G/F | Jimmy Butler | Chicago Bulls | 6–7 | 220 |
| G | Jeff Teague | Atlanta Hawks | 6–2 | 181 |
| G | Kyle Lowry | Toronto Raptors | 6–0 | 205 |
| G | John Wall | Washington Wizards | 6–4 | 195 |
| G | Michael Carter-Williams | Philadelphia 76ers | 6–6 | 190 |
| G | Brandon Knight | Milwaukee Bucks | 6–3 | 189 |
| G | Dennis Schröder | Atlanta Hawks | 6–1 | 168 |
| G | Patrick Beverley | Houston Rockets | 6–1 | 185 |
| G | Elfrid Payton | Orlando Magic | 6–4 | 185 |
| G | Trey Burke | Utah Jazz | 6–1 | 185 |
| G | Isaiah Thomas | Phoenix Suns | 5–9 | 185 |
    b.$^1$ $^2$ John Wall was replaced by Patrick Beverley.
    c.$^1$ $^2$ Michael Carter-Williams was replaced by Elfrid Payton.
    d.$^1$ $^2$ Jimmy Butler was replaced by Dennis Schröder.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Isaiah Thomas (Phoenix) | X | | | | | | |
| 8 | Patrick Beverley (Houston) | O | | | | | | |
| 8 | Patrick Beverley (Houston) | O | Patrick Beverley (Houston) | Patrick Beverley (Houston) | O | | | |
| | | | Jeff Teague (Atlanta) | Jeff Teague (Atlanta) | X | | | |
| 4 | Jeff Teague (Atlanta) | O | Jeff Teague (Atlanta) | Jeff Teague (Atlanta) | X | | | |
| 5 | Elfrid Payton (Orlando) | X | | | | | | |
| 5 | Elfrid Payton (Orlando) | X | | | | Patrick Beverley (Houston) | Patrick Beverley (Houston) | O |
| | | | | | | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | X |
| 2 | Trey Burke (Utah) | X | | | | | | | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | X |
| 7 | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | O | | | | | | |
| 7 | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | O | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) | O | | | |
| | | | Kyle Lowry (Toronto) | Kyle Lowry (Toronto) | X | | | |
| 3 | Kyle Lowry (Toronto) | O | Kyle Lowry (Toronto) | Kyle Lowry (Toronto) | X | | | |
| 6 | Dennis Schröder (Atlanta) | X | | | | | | |

### Three-Point Contest

Contestants :
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | First round | Final round |
| G | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 6–3 | 190 | 23 | 27 |
| G | Kyrie Irving | Cleveland Cavaliers | 6–3 | 193 | 23 | 17 |
| G | Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors | 6–7 | 215 | 24 | 14 |
| G | Wesley Matthews | Portland Trail Blazers | 6–5 | 220 | 22 | – |
| G/F | Kyle Korver | Atlanta Hawks | 6–7 | 212 | 18 | – |
| G | Marco Belinelli | San Antonio Spurs | 6–5 | 195 | 18 | – |
| G | JJ Redick | Los Angeles Clippers | 6–4 | 190 | 17 | – |
| G | James Harden | Houston Rockets | 6–5 | 225 | 15 | – |

### Slam Dunk Contest

Rookie Zach LaVine won the Slam Dunk Contest to become the youngest champion (19) since an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant in 1997. He became a crowd favorite after his first dunk, which he performed while wearing Michael Jordan's No. 23 jersey from the movie Space Jam, which inspired him as a youngster to become a basketball player. With a perfect 50 on each of his first two dunks, Lavine was the first player since Dwight Howard in 2009 with a perfect score on multiple dunks. Yahoo! Sports hailed him as "the most electrifying performer of All-Star Saturday Night ... and, if we're being honest, in quite a number of years."
Contestants :
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | First round | Final round |
| G | Zach LaVine | Minnesota Timberwolves | 6–5 | 183 | 100 (50+50) | 94 (45+49) |
| G | Victor Oladipo | Orlando Magic | 6–4 | 210 | 89 (50+39) | 72 (31+41) |
| F/C | Mason Plumlee | Brooklyn Nets | 6–11 | 235 | 76 (40+36) | – |
| G/F | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | 6–11 | 217 | 65 (30+35) | – |