The 70th All-Star Game will take place and the prospect does not enchant the stars of the NBA, LeBron James in mind.
The event will be held on March 7 in Atlanta, the organizing body announced Thursday.
Her boss, Adam Silver, believes "it was the right thing to do."
Heavily criticized, the basketball competition, which brings together the best NBA players from the east coast and the west coast, will take place in the lair of the Atlanta Hawks team, owned by the audiovisual group Turner, broadcaster of the event. .
The players will therefore not benefit from a cut without an exhibition tournament, contrary to what had been decided before the start of the season by the North American Basketball League.
"There is money at stake"
Several selected stars have criticized in recent days the prospect of having to participate in an All-Star Game at the heart of a season with a tight schedule, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and which began shortly after the previous one.
“We resumed the championship after a 71-day offseason. At that point we were told there would be no All-Star Game, but a nice little break” of five days.
"And there, they organize us an ASG like that. It's like giving us a slap in the face," recently railed LeBron James, captain for the Western Conference.
"I think every player was eager to have five days off, or even seven. We all have to follow the leader (LeBron James, Editor's note). He is not impatient and has no energy for this game, and I feel the same. I don't give a damn about ASG today. We can't see our families, "claimed the reigning double MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"I want to see my family, I don't want to worry about the All-Star Game. I want to see my little brother in Spain, or he can come. So it's the same for me, I have no want to make this match. "
"We are well aware of what is going on at this level. We all know why we are going to play it. There is money at stake. It is an opportunity to raise more money. Basically, we It's just putting money before health right now. We're playing games when there's still a pandemic out there, with all these protocols and rules, so that doesn't surprise me so much. " denounced Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers winger.
"It is what it is. We all know why we're playing it. It's money on the line. It's opportunity to make more money. Just putting money over health right now, pretty much."
Kawhi Leonard on playing the All-Star Game.
pic.twitter.com/cjy7oUTxGV
- Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 6, 2021
"For the benefit of all"
"I hear other perspectives. No decision during this pandemic is made without the notion of uncertainty and risk. This is part of it. And yet, it's my job to balance things out for the better. everyone's best interests and, at the end of the day, it seems to me that (this All-Star Game) is the right thing to do moving forward, "Adam Silver pleaded on ESPN Thursday.
It remains to be seen whether James (17th participation) and his star partners will take this step, as is nevertheless expected, or if some will challenge the NBA by not participating, at the risk of a potential financial penalty.
Alongside the "King", the five of the Western Conference includes point guard Stephen Curry, whose last season was plagued by a broken hand and who shines again with Golden State, the two European pearls, the Serbian Nikola Jokic ( Denver) and Slovenian Luka Doncic (Dallas), as well as Kawhi Leonard.
🌟 The players selected in the West for the All-Star Game 2021 have fallen:
Stephen Curry
Luka Doncic
Kawhi Leonard
LeBron James
Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/rtxZbcgNR3
- First Team (@ FirstTeam101) February 19, 2021
In the East, Kevin Durant concentrated the most votes, rewarded for his return to the highest level with Brooklyn, after a year and a half of absence due to a rupture of the right Achilles tendon.
He will play with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cameroonian pivot Joel Embiid (Philadelphia, leader in the East), Bradley Beal (Washington), top scorer for the season, and Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn).
🌟 The players selected in the East for the All-Star Game 2021 have fallen:
Kyrie Irving
Bradley Beal
Kevin Durant
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Joel Embiid pic.twitter.com/XeGWvWokSY
- First Team (@ FirstTeam101) February 19, 2021
The all-star game will be preceded by a three-point shooting competition and the "skill challenge".
A dunk contest will take place at half time.
In addition to the festivities on the floor, the NBA and the Players Union (NBPA) announced to donate more than $ 2.5 million to the HBCUs (the "Historically Black Universities", initially reserved only for the African-American community. , Editor's note), and to organizations on the front line in the fight against the coronavirus.
As such, the organizers also indicated in this press release that the measures against Covid-19 would be reinforced with the establishment of a health "mini-bubble" and an increase in PCR tests.
Players will travel to and from Atlanta on private planes.
Finally, the game will take place behind closed doors, which did not prevent Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from insisting that "the fans do not come to party" in his town.
With AFP
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