# 1996 NBA All-Star Game

The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was the 46th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, an exhibition basketball game played on February 11, 1996. The event was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio and was a part of the 50th season of the NBA. The game was televised nationally by NBC in the United States and by CTV in Canada. There were 36,037 people in attendance. Michael Jordan put on a show for the fans in his first game back from retirement and ended up receiving the game's Most Valuable Player award.

## Ballots

Phil Jackson from the Chicago Bulls coached the Eastern Conference and George Karl from the Seattle SuperSonics coached the Western Conference. The rosters for the All-Star game were chosen via a fan ballot. The fans would vote for every position, as well as the coaches, and the players that received the most votes would be placed on a team. If a player were unable to participate due to an injury, then the commissioner would select another player as a replacement. Grant Hill led the all-star voting with 1,358,004 votes with Michael Jordan being right behind him with 1,341,422 votes. The rest of the Eastern conference starters were Penny Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O'Neal. The reserves included Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Vin Baker and Terrell Brandon. For the West, the person that led the all-star voting was Charles Barkley with 1,268,195 votes. Clyde Drexler, after seven appearances with Portland Trail Blazers, appeared in the game for the first time as a Houston Rocket. The rest of the Western starters were Jason Kidd, Shawn Kemp, and Hakeem Olajuwon. The reserves included David Robinson, Gary Payton, Sean Elliott, and Karl Malone.

## All-Star Game
### Box Score

* NBC
* February 11, 1996 6:30pm
Western Conference 118, Eastern Conference 129 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 26–28, 22–41, 38–27 |||
| Pts: Gary Payton, David Robinson 18 each Rebs: David Robinson 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 10 | Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 25 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 10 Asts: Penny Hardaway 7 |
* Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas Attendance: 36,037
This was the first All-Star game that Michael Jordan played in after returning from his first retirement. He managed 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, was 8–11 from the field, and didn't commit any turnovers. Shaquille O'Neal scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds, leading the East in both categories. For the West, Jason Kidd lead the team with 10 assists in his first All-Star Game appearance. The scoring leaders for the West were David Robinson and Gary Payton, both contributing 18 points. The East won the game by a score of 129–118. There was audible dissatisfaction among the crowd when it was revealed that Jordan would be the game's MVP. Some of them felt that O'Neal deserved the award. However, Jordan played six fewer minutes and had a higher efficiency rating.

## Roster

Eastern Conference All-Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team | No. of selections | Votes |
| Starters |||||
| G | Penny Hardaway | Orlando Magic | 2nd | 1,050,461 |
| G | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls | 10th | 1,341,422 |
| F | Scottie Pippen | Chicago Bulls | 6th | 1,289,649 |
| F | Grant Hill | Detroit Pistons | 2nd | 1,358,004 |
| C | Shaquille O'Neal | Orlando Magic | 4th | 1,290,591 |
| Reserves |||||
| F | Vin Baker | Milwaukee Bucks | 2nd | 259,279 |
| G | Terrell Brandon | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1st | — |
| C | Patrick Ewing | New York Knicks | 10th | 437,003 |
| F | Juwan Howard | Washington Bullets | 1st | — |
| G | Reggie Miller | Indiana Pacers | 3rd | 471,162 |
| C | Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat | 3rd | 847,899 |
| F | Glen Rice | Charlotte Hornets | 1st | 296,143 |
| Head coach: Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls) |||||
Western Conference All-Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team | No. of selections | Votes |
| Starters |||||
| G | Jason Kidd | Dallas Mavericks | 1st | 1,049,946 |
| G | Clyde Drexler | Houston Rockets | 9th | 1,070,040 |
| F | Charles Barkley | Phoenix Suns | 10th | 1,268,195 |
| F | Shawn Kemp | Seattle SuperSonics | 4th | 1,021,384 |
| C | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 11th | 1,240,329 |
| Reserves |||||
| F | Sean Elliott | San Antonio Spurs | 2nd | — |
| F | Karl Malone | Utah Jazz | 9th | 986,028 |
| C | Dikembe Mutombo | Denver Nuggets | 3rd | 369,053 |
| G | Gary Payton | Seattle SuperSonics | 3rd | — |
| G | Mitch Richmond | Sacramento Kings | 4th | 323,619 |
| C | David Robinson | San Antonio Spurs | 7th | 1,037,245 |
| G | John Stockton | Utah Jazz | 8th | 823,826 |
| Head coach: George Karl (Seattle SuperSonics) |||||