NBA All-Star Game: Top 5 All-Star Games of the 2000s

If you can't wait for tomorrow's big game, why not take five and reminisce the five greatest All-Star Games of the last decade?

From self-assisted dunks to political statements, it was a great and important 10 years for the NBA's favorite weekend holiday from 2000 to 2010.

Now that's entertainment. Let's take a look back at the times when the amazing really did happen.

No. 5: Dallas 2010

NBA history was made the year before last to the tune of 108,713 record-breaking, screaming fans.

It took a couple of Dallas Cowboys to usher these hoop dreamers into an NFL stadium. Dwyane Wade took his deserved MVP award with LeBron James standing right behind him (who would have thought back then?) and with a 141-139 thriller over four quarters it felt like M.J. was back in the building.

It was Team Jordan that showed the flashes of brilliance, however, as Wade's performance looked as good as the halftime show featuring the beautiful Alicia Keys and Shakira.

A big, big night all around. The NBA broke new ground with this sell-out as timeless basketball truly touched down. Forget the Super Bowl; this was the sporting highlight of the first quarter of 2010.

4-Philadelphia 2002

Out in Philly where Kobe Bryant was born and raised, the MVP made this court his playground with most of his plays.

Despite the boos, Kobe's 31 point, 5 assist and 5 rebound performance could not be denied. As he took top honors the West cracked the East 135-120 at Philadelphia's First Union Centre. Home-team hero Allen Iverson may not have turned home-court advantage to a game, set and match, but by donning No. 6 in honour of Sixers legend Julius Erving, he served up another special moment in a game of many.

This was the last game in which the players wore their respective team jerseys, but more importantly, it was Michael Jordan's first All-Star game since coming out of retirement with his Washington Wizards. Mike played great, but on a break-away run to the basket, floor-Jordan clanged a dunk off the rim for a hilarious and unfortunate moment.

Still, when Tracy McGrady passed the ball off the backboard glass to himself from just beyond halfcourt and slammed it home, he gave the game its greatest moment and reset the trend for dunks and All-Star spectacles to come.

No. 3: Phoenix, 2009

Nothing beats big-game side stories and everyone likes a tale of redemption, even if you have to go through a desert to find it.

Thanks to the Phoenix Suns, the "Big Cactus" Shaquille O'Neal played on the same team as Kobe Bryant for the first time since the death of their dynasty out in Los Angeles. The last time these two played together in an All-Star Game, the two Lakers combined for a Jerry West-esque 44 points, cementing the dynamics of their duo at their home-hosting Staples.

A lot had happened since then, but in Phoenix all those past problems dried up as the thought of foes showed they were really friends. Under the coaching of Phil Jackson it all felt like 2001 again as the West took a 19-0 run with Shaq and Kobe on the floor together. The pair combined for the West's 146-119 drubbing and won co-MVP honors in a story that sounded as good as John Legend's halftime show.

No. 2: New Orleans, 2008

It was a close 134-128 win for the East, and LeBron James took the MVP honors with 27 points and was one assist and two rebounds away from a triple-double. New Boston Celtic player Kevin Garnett was the top vote-getter while Dwight Howard put on a classic show, re-invigorating and revolutionizing the dunk contest. Yao Ming didn't play and Kobe Bryant almost joined him on the bench.

Still, none of this mattered compared to the biggest story of the weekend, where the game was played. New Orleans held the 57th All-Star game in the New Orleans Arena in Louisiana.

In a statement of solidarity that others in power couldn't muster, the NBA showed they really cared, proving it wasn't just about basketball, or golf for that matter. Just watch their food drives. The biggest basketball league in the world really gave back.

The return New Orleans as a city, just three years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, proved that the NBA were perfect hosts. This wasn't just one of the best All-Star games; it was also one of the NBA's finest and proudest moments.

No. 1: Atlanta, 2003

Michael Jordan hit a fade-away jumper over Shawn Marion with five seconds to go in overtime to put the East up by a bucket, showing that even with the future of The Matrix, Jordan's basketball creation was present and correct. In his last-ever All-Star Game, this signature move looked to score a storybook ending to the most legendary of careers.

That was until the heir to the airs throne, Kobe Bryant, re-wrote history.

As Jermaine O'Neal sent Kobe to the line, Bryant's killer instinct must have felt a little bit merciful for his hero's last All-Star moment. Still, Kobe is no coward and he sent the game into a second overtime, where MVP Kevin Garnett did the rest.

Still, everything about their thrilling, hard-fought, long 155-145 Western win was classic, from Vince Carter standing aside to let Mike start, to the resurrection of the classic East and West All-Star jerseys. Even the way the court and the lighting looked gave the evening a vintage feel and as for the basketball itself, timeless.