The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a popular men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976, resulting in four ABA teams joining the NBA and the introduction of the NBA 3-point shot in 1979.
A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands. It is a type of field goal that is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of February, the same day that the Daytona 500 was held, and one week after the Super Bowl. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a three-day event which goes from Friday to Sunday. The All-Star Game was first played at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951.
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs from Wales or Northern Ireland. The BBL runs three additional knockout competitions alongside the BBL Championship which are the BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and the end-of-season BBL Playoffs. In March 2024, there will be a BBL All-Star game which will replace the BBL Cup knockout competition.
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA Team member and is widely viewed as one of the most acrobatic slam dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname "The Human Highlight Film". In October 2021, he was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Wilkins is the leader in most years with the Hawks for 12 seasons, the most games played with 882 in Hawks franchise history, the most minutes played with 32,545 in Hawks franchise history, the most career points in Hawks franchise history with 23,292 points, and the most points per game with 26.4 in Hawks franchise history.
Darrell Eugene Armstrong is a former American professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant coach for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who won the championship in the 2010–11 season.
Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb is an American former professional basketball player. A 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) point guard, Webb played college basketball at Midland College and at North Carolina State University. He then played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a professional career that spanned from 1985 to 1998. Webb also played professional basketball in the United States Basketball League, in the Continental Basketball Association, and in Italy.
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Sports Illustrated wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime invention since the bathroom."
The National Basketball Association All-Star weekend is a weekend festival held every February during the middle of the NBA regular season that consists of a variety of basketball events, exhibitions and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star Game held on Sunday night. No regular season games are held during this period, which is also known as the All-Star break. It is right after the trade deadline.
The 2008 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2008, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season. It was the 57th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, home of the New Orleans Hornets. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 134–128. LeBron James was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, his second time winning the award. This was the first NBA All-Star Game that was hosted by New Orleans, and was the city's first major professional sporting event since the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The city was awarded in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on May 22, 2006. The other reported contenders for the 2008 contest was Air Canada Centre at Toronto, who withdrew the bid early in 2005.
The McDonald's All American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the high-school basketball season, in an East vs. West format. As part of the annual event, boys and girls compete in a slam dunk contest and a three-point shooting competition, and compete alongside All-American Game alumni in a timed team shootout. The last of these competitions replaced separate overall timed skills competitions for boys and girls. It is rare for girls to compete in the slam dunk contest. They have, however, won it three times—in 2004 by Candace Parker, in 2019 by Fran Belibi, and most recently in 2022 by Ashlyn Watkins. The boys' game has been contested annually since 1978, and the girls game has been played each year since it was added in 2002.
The 2009 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2009, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2008–09 season. It was the 58th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Phoenix Suns. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 146–119. The West's Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were named joint winners of the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award. This was the third time that Phoenix had hosted the All-Star Game; the city had previously hosted the event in 1975 and 1995. Phoenix was awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on November 8, 2007. The other reported contenders for the 2009 contest were Air Canada Centre at Toronto, Madison Square Garden at New York City, Oracle Arena at Oakland and Bradley Center at Milwaukee.
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 14, 2010, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 season. It was the 59th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 141–139. The East's Dwyane Wade, who recorded 28 points on 75% shooting, 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals, was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. This was the second time that the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area had hosted the All-Star Game; the area had previously hosted the event in 1986. Dallas was awarded the 2010 All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on October 30, 2008.
The 1976 ABA All Star Game was the ninth and final American Basketball Association All-Star Game, played at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, on January 27, 1976. This time, the league abandoned the usual East vs. West format it used from the 1967-68 season onward and instead had the league's first-place team at the All Star break face off against a team of ABA All Stars. The change was decided given the league's reduction from ten to seven teams and from two divisions to only one. At the All-Star break, the Denver Nuggets were in first place, which was convenient as the Nuggets had also been selected to host the game in McNichols Arena. Kevin Loughery of the New York Nets coached the All-Stars while Larry Brown led the Denver Nuggets. This was the second year in a row that Loughery and Brown coached against each other in the ABA All-Star Game.
The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 20, 2011, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2010–11 season. It was the 60th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 148–143. Kobe Bryant was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
The NBA D-League All-Star Game was an annual exhibition basketball game held by the NBA Development League (D-League). The D-League was founded in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) and later as the NBA Development League. The league, now known as the NBA G League, serves as the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization.
The 2015 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2015, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season. It was the 64th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 163–158. Russell Westbrook was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. The game was televised nationally by TNT and TBS in the United States, and TSN in Canada.
The BBL All-Star Game is the annual All-Star Game of the German first-division basketball league, the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). The event is based on the original NBA concept and includes a slam dunk contest and a three-point shootout. Since 2012, the All-Star Game has been played between "Team National" and "Team International".
The Lega Basket All Star Game, also commonly known as the Italian Basketball All-Star Game, is an all-star game that organised annually by the Lega Basket, in conjunction with RCS Sport and the Italian Basketball Federation. It brings together a selection of players from the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), which is the highest-tier level professional basketball league in Italy, to play between themselves, or against another opponent. First held in 1982, the event has seen a fluctuating history, with numerous changes to its format through the years, including the participation of the senior men's Italian national team.
Garlon Green is an American professional basketball player for Fos Provence Basket of the LNB Pro A. After completing his collegiate eligibility, Green started his professional career with Australian second division team Canberra Gunners, before signing for the Japanese team Kumamoto Volters. In 2015 Garlon signed a contract for the 2015–16 season with the Walter Tigers Tübingen of the German Basketball Bundesliga. He is the younger brother of NBA player Gerald Green. Green participated in the BBL All-Star Game in 2016 and was the winner of the slam dunk contest.
John Trezvant 
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