2012 NBA All-Star Roster Reveals LA as the NBA's Capital City
Orlando may be hosting the 2012 NBA All-Star game, but Los Angeles continues to be the biggest, and most intriguing hoops city around.
On Thursday, we received a live presentation on TNT that provided the official starters for the All-Star game, which will take place on February 26th at the Amway Center in Orlando.
Here is a look a the starters that will soon delight us with their show-boating on offense, along with their shrugging on defense.
| PG | Chris Paul | Derrick Rose |
| SG | Kobe Bryant | Dwyane Wade |
| SF | Kevin Durant | Carmelo Anthony |
| PF | Blake Griffin | LeBron James |
| C | Andrew Bynum | Dwight Howard |
Florida gets well represented with Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade all playing within the state, but it is definitely clear that one city reigns supreme when it comes to basketball domination.
There is a civil war occurring in the city of cosmetic surgery and Hollywood celebrities, but for one day it will be silenced as the Clippers and Lakers will share the same motivation.
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, will join Blake Griffin and Chris Paul in what is a flood of "LaLa Land" glamour and pizazz.
New York City gets a great deal of attention as well, for the Knicks, and their trials and tribulations, as they try their hand at a big three formula.
Soon, the Brooklyn borough will get a great deal of attention too, as the Nets move their franchise over there.
Boston will always be of importance, but it's clear that far more trying days are ahead for the most decorated franchise in the NBA.
Miami will be a huge draw as long as LeBron James calls it home, and we can't forget about the Second City that Michael Jordan put on the NBA map.
But Los Angeles is where the NBA begins and ends this season.
Most of the biggest stories and brightest talent play in the town that is mad for basketball.
Call LA a town of implants, fair-weather fans and transplants from other cities, but you can't deny the weight it brings to the Association.
In an amazing turn, the one player that started a wave of fan criticism in Chris Paul will actually get to play alongside Kobe Bryant.
David Stern nixed a trade prior to the season that would have sent Paul to the Lakers.
An offseason dominated by fans' hatred for the lockout, saw the preseason dominated by anger for Stern's overzealous actions.
The ripples of that decision still continue to this day, as Paul has since landed with the Clippers to provide the most exciting team in the NBA.
It provides me no warmth to state that the Clippers are exciting.
Growing up purple and gold makes it hard to watch anything provided by Donald Sterling.
There is no doubt the Lakers continue to dominate the sprawling city, but the addition of a new, competitive Clippers team, and their first starting tandem in All-Star history, makes LA the most star-studded town in the business.
Consider also the fact that players like DeAndre Jordan and Pau Gasol are considered as two-bit players in LA, when they would be marquee players if they played in the confines of another town.
The inclusion of four starters from Los Angeles seems benign and trivial, but on a closer inspection it's so much more.
LA is the new Mecca of the Association, where players and fans from all around the league have most of their attention set upon this city alone.
A season that has been dominated by Hollywood, will get the spotlight once again in Orlando.
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