The NBA and players union are closing in on scheduling an All-Star Game set for March 7 in Atlanta, according to Adrian Woinarowski of ESPN.
All-Star voting has already begun, and as the New York Times’ Marc Stein reported that even without a game, there would be All-Stars. But it’s looking more likely that a game is on the way.
“The NBA and union are increasingly confident that enough of the league’s top players are willing to participate during a tight midseason break in this condensed pandemic schedule,” Wojnarowski reported. “Outside of the conference and NBA Finals, the All-Star Game is traditionally at the top of fan engagement for the league — another motivating factor to salvage the event this season.”
The NBA schedule consists of a break from March 5-10.
This year’s All-Star Weekend was originally set for Indianapolis, but uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic forced that to be postponed. Indianapolis will still host the majority of this year’s NCAA tournament and the entire Final Four.
Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is scheduled to host All-Star Weekend in 2022.