The Philadelphia 76ers have plans to host the All-Star game in 2026.
While the 2021 NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis is most likely not happening, the league is looking to safely move forward out of the current state of the world and begin planning for the future.
The Philadelphia 76ers are currently moving forward with a few new additions to their organization such as a new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and a new VP of Personnel. With these new additions, they are feeling pretty confident about their basketball team and they also want to show their arena and their city to the world.
In a report by CNBC’s Jabari Young, the Sixers are working on coming up with a plan to host the 2026 All-Star game at the Wells Fargo Center. Young reports:
And the Sixers are working with Philadelphia officials and Comcast, which owns the Wells Fargo Center, to host an NBA All-Star game in 2026.
The Sixers have been planning on moving out of the Wells Fargo Center and they made a proposal for an arena in the city’s Penn’s Landing area, but the proposal was rejected. Now, the team looks to move forward in the arena and a new front office configuration. [lawrence-related id=38474,38468,38459]
While his teammates were in Chicago for the All-Star game or spending time with their families, Steven Adams enjoyed “training his dog”.
One thing is for certain. When interviewing Steven Adams, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get.
Like the time where he used profanity to describe his fear of being at the free-throw line in a clutch situation.
Or when he said the next time he’s going to wear a custom suit will be “at his funeral”.
Adams’ blunt style combined with sarcastic wit and his colloquial “mate” makes him one of the more entertaining interviews on the team.
Oklahoma City’s media session at practice on Thursday was no exception.
Thunder reporter Nick Gallo asked Adams what his favorite part of being off for the All-Star break was. Without missing a beat, Adams replied, “I think training my dog, mate”.
Who doesn’t love some quality time with their dog?
The week off also likely helped Adams get fully healthy for the final push of the regular season after dealing with knee and ankle injuries towards the end of January.
In his last 10 games prior to the All-Star break, Adams was averaging just 8.0 points per game 7.4 rebounds, down from his season averages of 10.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.
Oklahoma City will hope to have him back to form on Friday night when they host the Nuggets. In their only game against Denver this season, Adams went for a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a 110-102 loss on Dec. 14.
Adams was also seen at practice on Thursday working on his half-court heaves.
The second-year Cleveland guard talked about his relationship with Paul and how the veteran inspires him both on and off the court.
Chris Paul has thoroughly embraced his role as a mentor.
In his first season in Oklahoma City, he’s taken Shai Gilgeous-Alexander under his wing.
Although he jokingly called himself a “burden” to Gilgeous-Alexander at times, Paul said he’s started to see moments where SGA “gets it” and pointed to a specific instance in the Rising Stars Challenge where Gilgeous-Alexander hustled to get the ball inbounds and up the court because he’s seen Paul do it in games.
But Paul’s mentorship extends far beyond his own team and it’s been going on much longer than just this year.
Second-year Cavaliers guard, Collin Sexton, sat down with HoopsHype at MTN DEW’s Courtside Studios in Chicago during All-Star Weekend. He told Alex Kennedy that Paul is one of the veterans that’s had the biggest impact on him both on and off the court.
“My relationship with Chris goes back to high school when I played on his teams (Team CP3). Ever since then, we’ve just been building that relationship. I talk to him every week and just pick his brain and figure out how he feels about certain plays and things that I can incorporate into my game. It’s cool.”
In addition to Paul, Sexton also said he was influenced by Kevin Love and Avery Johnson because, “those guys, they’ve been where I want to get to. I just take bits and pieces of their game so that I can learn from them and understand the game even more.”
Sexton played in the Rising Stars Game, scoring 21 points in 20 minutes in Team USA’s 151-131 win over Team World.
James Harden seems to be a fan of Houston’s latest lineups, which allow more room for Rockets like Russell Westbrook to drive inside.
Rockets guard James Harden appears to be a fan of Houston’s clear emphasis on floor spacing, in large part because of the increased ability it gives backcourt co-star Russell Westbrook to drive to the basket.
Speaking at Saturday’s All-Star Media Day in Chicago, Harden said of his nine-time All-Star teammate:
We’re giving him space for him to go out there and do what he does at a high level, what he’s been doing for the last 12 years. That’s all you can give somebody that’s a former MVP. You let him go out there and be himself. The comfort level is there. And it’s still only been a few months since he’s been here. He’s still getting adjusted, but he’s looking more comfortable and he’s playing more free.
One of the big benefits of the suddenly smaller lineup for the Rockets is supposed to be floor spacing. In three games since the Feb. 5 trade of traditional big Clint Capela — and with versatile defensive ace and corner 3-point specialist P.J. Tucker starting at center, instead — Westbrook has scored at least 36 points in each game on 54% or better shooting.
That matches the longest such streak in the NBA in over 20 years. The last player to do it for four games was Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal, who did so in November 1999. He was that season’s MVP.
Brad Stevens on Russell Westbrook (@russwest44): “Harden draws so much attention, when you’re scrambling out and you guard a guy that’s a jet engine flying into the paint, it’s just hard. It’s tough. He’s really good.” pic.twitter.com/aLii1s6dfZ
“Internally, we don’t think it’s small ball,” Westbrook said Saturday about the lineup. “We just play our personnel and go compete, and that’s it.”
Nonetheless, Westbrook’s increased shooting efficiency has come amid a dramatic change in his shot profile. In his last 10 games entering Tuesday, Westbrook’s average shot distance had dropped by more than four feet relative to his first 34 games in Houston.
In that 10-game stretch, Westbrook’s rate of shots in the paint increased from 52% to 71%, while his attempted 3-pointers fell from 23% to 5%.
Over the last 10 games, Russell Westbrook has scored 234 points in the paint, something only Shaquille O'Neal has done in a 10-game span over the last 20 seasons.
Over his last 14 outings, the 31-year-old Westbrook is averaging 34.0 points (53.0% shooting), 8.1 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game. That makes him the NBA’s No. 2 overall scorer over that span on a per-game basis, trailing only Portland’s Damian Lillard (35.5).
During that 14-game span, Westbrook leads the NBA by far with an average of 25.3 drives per game. Prior to that period, Westbrook ranked No. 6 in the league at 18.2 drives per game.
“Obviously, with this style of playing, different guys on the floor have to be able to guard in a lot of space, which is to my advantage,” Westbrook said during Saturday’s media session. “We’re moving in the right direction. I’m happy where we are, and I’m happy where we’re headed.”
Westbrook and Harden will both play on Team LeBron in Sunday’s All-Star Game, which tips off at 7:00 p.m. Central and will be televised nationally on TNT. Harden will start, while Westbrook comes off the bench.
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As for the Rockets (34-20), they return to action on Thursday night at Golden State (12-42). That game tips off at 9:30 p.m. Central, with an exclusive national broadcast on TNT.
Houston enters the All-Star break having won five of its last seven games, and it could be six if not for Bojan Bogdanovic’s stunning buzzer-beater.
The 2019 Dunk Contest champion did not participate due to his right elbow not being back at 100% after suffering an injury in November.
Hamidou Diallo didn’t participate in Saturday night’s controversial (more on that later) Dunk Contest. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t watching.
The 2019 Dunk Contest champion had said at the end of January that he wanted to defend his title “if he was healthy”, and while that he was “100% a competitor” his primary focus was “trying to get into a groove on the court”.
Diallo missed significant time earlier this season dealing with a hyperextended right elbow injury that he suffered in a loss to the Lakers near the end of November.
Although he’s still been able to throw down some vicious dunks during the regular season, he didn’t feel his elbow was healthy enough to compete.
Apparently though, if he had been healthy enough, Diallo believes he would have been a back-to-back Dunk Contest winner, tweeting out midway through the competition, “This would’ve been an easy W.”
In fairness, that tweet was sent before the Dunk Contest got to the final round.
But even without Diallo’s tweet mid-competition, the 2020 Dunk Contest was full of controversy. Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. won the event over Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic in the second round of a dunk-off.
Although Jones Jr. threw down some seriously impressive dunks, including one where he hurdled someone, caught an alley-oop pass off the backboard, went between his legs and then dunked, many thought the crown should’ve have gone to Gordon.
Gordon not only hit a 360 alley-oop slam off the side of the backboard but he also dunked over 7’5” Celtics rookie, Tacko Fall.
According to ESPN, the final round of the dunk-off was supposed to end in a tie.
“We thought it was going to be tied. We were like, ‘This is a tie!'” one judge, hip-hop artist Common, told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “But somebody didn’t do it right. I don’t know who it is.”
Diallo won the 2019 Dunk Contest with a dunk where he hurdled Shaquille O’Neal, stuffing it with so much power he had his arm all the way through the hoop and was hanging by his elbow.
But as the former MVP sees it, that comes with the territory of being one of the NBA’s best players. Now an All-Star for the eighth time in his eventual Hall of Fame career, the league’s 2019-20 scoring leader had this exchange at Saturday’s All-Star Media Day in Chicago:
Reporter: James, you talked to us before about blocking out the haters. What’s the best part about doing that?
Harden: It means you’re doing something right. [laughs] If you don’t have haters, you don’t have people not wanting you to succeed, then you’re just not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s a part of it. It’s a part of when you’re on the top. and when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
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Regarding his career goals, Harden was quite succinct in his answer:
Basketball-wise, obviously, I want a championship. I want to be one of the greats to ever play the game of basketball.
A partial transcript of Harden’s interview session with reporters from Saturday’s All-Star Media Day is available at the league’s website.
Harden will start Sunday’s All-Star game, which begins at 7 p.m. Central time and will be televised nationally on TNT. The 30-year-old is averaging a league-high 35.3 points per game for the Rockets (34-20) this season, along with 7.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Watch as Russell Westbrook’s two-year-old son, Noah, barges in and takes the microphone from his dad during the All-Star media session.
Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook was ready for the usual array of basketball questions from reporters at Saturday’s media availability in Chicago for 2020 NBA All-Stars.
But the former MVP wasn’t quite as prepared for his two-year-old son, Noah, to take the microphone. Noah, who celebrates his third birthday in May, is the oldest of three children by Westbrook and his wife, Nina.
Though Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star, this weekend represents his first All-Star Game experience with a child old enough to begin enjoying it. That’s exactly what Noah did Saturday by grabbing the microphone and making noises during his father’s media session with reporters.
Now 31 years old, Westbrook also has a pair of twin daughters named Skye and Jordan, born in November 2018. Though the younger girls weren’t with him at the podium in Chicago, Westbrook acknowledged them on Instagram with a photo post on Friday’s Valentine’s Day.
As for basketball, Westbrook and Houston backcourt mate James Harden will each play for Team LeBron in Sunday’s All-Star Game. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Central, with the game televised nationally on TNT.
In his first season with the Rockets (34-20), Westbrook is averaging 27.2 points (46.3% shooting), 8.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in 36.0 minutes per game. Largely led by a historic scoring run from Westbrook, Houston has won five of its last seven games overall.
Nike is releasing two new LeBron sneakers to celebrate the 2020 NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago.
During NBA All-Star weekend there will be several highly-anticipated sneaker releases. Among them are two pairs of LeBron’s that certainly have the attention of sneakerheads. Today, the LeBron VII “All Star” made its return after first debuting 10 years ago. Then, on February 13, the “Monstars” LeBron 17 will also be hitting the SNKRS app and select retail locations throughout the country.
Like the original, the LeBron VII has the same bold blue upper. It once again is accented by an ornate woodgrain overlay and features the indisputably innovative Air unit that’s synonymous with the model.
Meanwhile, the “Monstars” sneaker was crafted specifically for the 2020 All-Star Game in Chicago while paying homage to the classic film, Space Jam, that James in the process of remaking. The shoe features special tongue accents, custom insoles and a dark, iridescent treatment found throughout the Knitposite upper.
On December 25, LeBron rocked a pair of the VII’s in the red “Christmas” colorway. Last month he was seen wearing the “Akron” VII’s as well, and there’s talk of a “China Moon” release coming soon.
Career day. Ah, yes, career day. That takes you back.
You know, to those days in high school where you’d sit and your classmate’s dad would come through from whatever job he worked. He’d share a few cool stories with the class and pass around some item that you’d never touched before. Easy money. Easy day at school. Now you can go home and chill.
But could you imagine a career day where James Harden showed up? Or Candace Parker? I don’t know about you, but my classroom would go nuts.
That’s happening for some kids in Chicago this weekend ahead of the All-Star game. Except for instead of a classmate’s dad, they’re kicking it with legends from the NBA and WNBA.
Adidas is hosting what they’re calling “the world’s best career day” with 240 student athletes from eight high schools in Chicago.
They’re getting tips and advice from professionals across different industries — including the NBA and WNBA — about what they did to make it in their profession. Adidas is bringing their athletes and professionals to help these kids shape their futures.
Among those professionals is Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker. The future Hall of Famer said the weekend is an opportunity for her to help someone else build their legacy the way she’s built hers.
“I’ve had countless role models and idols in my life both on and off the court that have played a huge part in who I am, so I’ve always strived to pass it on to the future generations,” Los Angeles Sparks All-Star Candace Parker told For The Win.
Other athletes participating include Derrick Rose, Zach LaVine, James Harden and Chiney Ogwumike among others. Some entertainers under the Adidas umbrella will also participate.
The program is part of Adidas basketball’s “Legacy” program that they say was created to empower youth in underserved communities across the country. The program started in 2017 and is currently in Los Angeles and New York. Chicago’s launch is coinciding with All-Star weekend.
The goal of the program is to “change lives through the power of sport,” Brandon Walker, Adidas Basketball’s program manager, told For The Win. Part of that is getting them in front of professionals who have already done the things they’re trying to do.
And it’s not just basketball they’re focused on. The company is also bringing in business professionals, artists, photographers, fashion designers and professionals from other industries to showcase their skills and drive interest.
“In LA, we were having a session and one of the young lady’s from our program spoke to one of our sneaker designers and she asked ‘You helped design James Harden’s shoe?’,” Walker said. “And just to see the look on her face to see that she could impact sport without actually needing to play the game was super powerful. And that’s what we try to hammer home.”
