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2002 NBA All-Star Game

1 2 3 4 Total West 32 40 28 35 135 East 24 31 22 43 120
Date	February 10, 2002
Arena	First Union Center
City	Philadelphia
MVP	Kobe Bryant
National anthem	Patti LaBelle (US) Kathleen Edwards (Canada)
Halftime show	Elton John
Attendance	19,581
Network	NBC
Announcers	Marv Albert Steve Jones Bill Walton
NBA All-Star Game
< 2001 2003 >

The2002 NBA All-Star Game was anexhibition basketball game which was played on February 10, 2002, at theFirst Union Center inPhiladelphia, home of thePhiladelphia 76ers. This game was the 51st edition of the North AmericanNBA All-Star Game and was played during the2001–02 NBA season.

The venue was originally scheduled for the1998-99 NBA season, but was cancelled due to the1998-99 NBA lockout and moved to 2002, which was the next All-Star game that had not yet been awarded to another city.

The West defeated the East 135–120, withKobe Bryant of theLos Angeles Lakers winning theMost Valuable Player. Bryant scored 31 points, dished 5 assists, and grabbed 5 rebounds, despite being booed by thehometown crowd. Tracy McGrady led the way for the East, scoring 25 points off the bench. He also made one of the most memorable plays in All-Star Game history, the self pass off the backboard dunk.

This was also the last All-Star Game to feature players wearing their respective team jerseys, and thus far, the last to be seen onover-the-air television until2026 (all games from2003 to2025 haveaired on the cable channelTNT).

Don Nelson (left) andByron Scott (right) were selected as the West and East head coach, respectively.

The coach for theWestern Conference team wasDallas Mavericks head coachDon Nelson. The Mavericks had a 35–14 record on February 10. The coach for theEastern Conference team wasNew Jersey Nets head coachByron Scott. The Nets had a 32–15 record on February 10.

The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards, two forwards and one center who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. The reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences. The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The reserves consist of two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.

For the third consecutive year,Vince Carter of theToronto Raptors topped the ballots with 1,470,176 votes, which earned him a starting position as a forward in theEastern Conference team for the third year in a row.Allen Iverson,Michael Jordan,Antoine Walker, andDikembe Mutombo completed the Eastern Conference starting position. This was the third consecutive All-Star appearance by Carter and Iverson, and Mutombo's eighth appearance as an All-Star. It also marked Jordan's 13th appearance as an All-Star, and the first after his return from retirement. The Eastern Conference reserves included four first-time selections,Shareef Abdur-Rahim,Baron Davis,Jermaine O'Neal, andPaul Pierce.Ray Allen,Jason Kidd,Tracy McGrady, andAlonzo Mourning rounded out the team. Two teams,Philadelphia 76ers, andBoston Celtics, had two representatives at the All-Star Game with Iverson/Mutombo, and Walker/Pierce.

For the second consecutive year, the Western Conference's leading vote-getter wasShaquille O'Neal, who earned his ninth consecutive All-Star Game selection with 1,247,438 votes.Steve Francis,Kobe Bryant,Kevin Garnett, andTim Duncan completed the Western Conference starting positions. Bryant, Garnett, O'Neal, and Duncan were all starters for the previous year's Western Conference team. Francis became an All-Star for the first time. TheWestern Conference reserves include five first-time selections,Elton Brand,Steve Nash,Dirk Nowitzki,Peja Stojaković, andWally Szczerbiak. The team is rounded out byGary Payton,Chris Webber, andKarl Malone. Four teams,Los Angeles Lakers,Dallas Mavericks,Minnesota Timberwolves, andSacramento Kings, had two representations at the All-Star Game with Bryant/O'Neal, Nash/Nowitzki, Garnett/Szczerbiak, and Webber/Stojaković.

^INJ Vince Carter and Shaquille O'Neal were unable to participate due to injury.
^REP Baron Davis and Elton Brand were named as Carter and O'Neal's replacements respectively.^[1]
^1 Jason Kidd and Chris Webber were named as starters, replacing Carter and O'Neal respectively

This year's contest adopted a new format. Two pairs of contestants faced each other, with the winner of each matchup advancing to the final round. Prior to each dunk, the players would spin a wheel to determine what kind of dunk they had to perform.

Peja Stojakovic won the Three Point Shootout, defeatingWesley Person in a shoot-off by the score of 9–5. Prior to that, the final round also includedSteve Nash, who finished in third place.^[2]

• 2002 NBA All-Star Game Homepage
• NBA All-Star 2002 Participants
• 2002 All-Star Game Recap: NBA History
• 2002 All-Star Game Box Score: NBA History

• NBA All-Star Game
• Basketball competitions in Philadelphia
• 2002 in Philadelphia
• 2001–02 NBA season
• 2002 in sports in Pennsylvania

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