Report: NBA, NBPA Discussing 2021 All-Star Game; Atlanta a Possible Host Site

There might be an NBA All-Star Game this season after all.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA and the NBPA are discussing hosting the game in Atlanta in March. Among the benefits of holding the game would be the ability for the league and players to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities and provide pandemic relief.

The NBA made the decision to postpone All-Star Weekend in November. It was scheduled to take place in Indianapolis, which will now host the 2024 All-Star Game.

Marc Stein of the New York Times noted the league plans on having All-Star voting this season even if there is not a game, so the best players will be recognized for their accomplishments in the first half of the season.

Uncertainty about whether there will be an All-Star Game goes hand-in-hand with much of the uncertainty that has surrounded this NBA season.

The league has not released the second half of the schedule yet to give itself more leeway to fit in games that are postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of games have been postponed because of positive cases and contact tracing with games being held in home arenas instead of the bubble-like environment used to finish the 2019-20 season.

The initial decision to postpone the All-Star Weekend festivities was made out of caution regarding the pandemic considering it is typically a celebration of the game that brings together thousands of players, fans, celebrities and entertainers in one city.

Any All-Star Game this year will surely take on a different feel. 

Wojnarowski noted NBPA president Chris Paul is a proponent of hosting a single game on March 7 during the midseason break that is scheduled for March 5-10 as a way to raise money and awareness for HBCUs and COVID-19 relief.