NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Sports Commission announced today Chicago will host the NBA All-Star Game in 2020. Chicago last hosted NBA All-Star in 1988 - the East defeated the West 138-133 and Michael Jordan was named MVP.
The 69th annual NBA All-Star will be a week’s worth of events designed to make the Chicago the basketball capital of the world, featuring the NBA Rising Stars Challenge and NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, NBA All-Star Saturday Night skills competitions, NBA Fan Zone and NBA All-Star Game.
NBA All-Star reaches fans in more than 200 countries and territories around the world
A record 27 million US viewers tuned in to watch NBA All-Star events in 2016, and a record 3.1 billion impressions and 453 million video views of All-Star content were generated across all NBA social platforms
In 2015, more than 166,000 fans attended NBA All-Star events in New York City
As the NBA’s largest and most important annual gathering of NBA players, fans, business partners and media, NBA All-Star typically generates more than $100 million in economic impact for the All-Star host city
Chicago’s rich basketball history creates the perfect setting for this marquee event. To celebrate this announcement, here are some fun facts about our city’s influence on the sport. Did you know…
Basketball first came to Chicago in 1893 - the city has had a major influence on the game ever since
The Harlem Globetrotters were founded in Chicago in 1926 - the team has since played in over 115 countries for more than 120 million fans
Since 1966, the Chicago Bulls have won six National Championships - the third-most of any NBA team
Chicago has previously hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1973 and 1988 - the East won both times
In 1998 the inaugural Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament tipped off at the United Center - Chicago has since hosted the tournament nine times and will host again in 2019 and 2021
The phrase “March Madness” was first coined by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) before CBS broadcaster and ex-Chicago Daily News sportswriter Brent Musburger used it to cover the NCAA tournament in 1982 - Chicago will welcome the NCAA DI Women’s Regional to Wintrust Arena in 2019 and the NCAA DI Men’s Regional to the United Center in 2022
Chicago hosts the largest single venue basketball event in the world, the NIKE Tournament of Champions - more than 750 teams and over 10,000 athletes will compete at McCormick Place in July of 2018, 2019 and 2020.
The 2020 NBA All-Star will further elevate Chicago not only as a bucket list item for basketball fans, but also as the premier sports destination in the United States. Click here for a video recap of the announcement.
For real-time news on NBA All-Star and other major events coming to Chicago, follow us on Twitter @ChiSportsComm.
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