1996 NBA All-Star Game

1996 NBA All-Star Game

1 2 3 4 Total East 33 28 41 27 129 West 32 26 22 38 118
Date	February 11, 1996
Arena	Alamodome
City	San Antonio
MVP	Michael Jordan
National anthem	Emilio (American) Shania Twain (Canadian)
Attendance	36,037
Network	NBC TNT (All-Star Saturday)
Announcers	Marv Albert, Matt Guokas and Steve Jones
West East
NBA All-Star Game
< 1995 1997 >

The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was the 46th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, an exhibition basketball game played on February 11, 1996. The event was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio and was a part of the 50th season of the NBA. The game was televised nationally by NBC in the United States and by CTV in Canada. There were 36,037 people in attendance. Michael Jordan put on a show for the fans in his first game back from retirement and ended up receiving the game's Most Valuable Player award.

Ballots

Phil Jackson, head coach of the Eastern Conference leader Chicago Bulls, coached the Eastern All-Stars. George Karl, head coach of the Western Conference leader Seattle SuperSonics, coached the Western All-Stars.

The rosters for the All-Star game were chosen via a fan ballot. The fans would vote for every position, as well as the coaches, and the players that received the most votes would be placed on a team. If a player were unable to participate due to an injury, then the commissioner would select another player as a replacement. Grant Hill led the all-star voting with 1,358,004 votes with Michael Jordan being right behind him with 1,341,422 votes. The rest of the Eastern conference starters were Penny Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O'Neal. The reserves included Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Vin Baker and Terrell Brandon. For the West, the person that led the all-star voting was Charles Barkley with 1,268,195 votes. Clyde Drexler, after seven appearances with Portland Trail Blazers, appeared in the game for the first time as a Houston Rocket. The rest of the Western starters were Jason Kidd, Shawn Kemp, and Hakeem Olajuwon. The reserves included David Robinson, Gary Payton, Sean Elliott, and Karl Malone.

All-Star Game

Box Score

NBC

February 11, 1996 6:30pm

Western Conference 118, Eastern Conference 129
Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 26–28, 22–41, 38–27
Pts: Gary Payton, David Robinson 18 each Rebs: David Robinson 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 10		Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 25 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 10 Asts: Penny Hardaway 7

Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas Attendance: 36,037

This was the first All-Star game that Michael Jordan played in after returning from his first retirement. He managed 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, was 8–11 from the field, and didn't commit any turnovers. Shaquille O'Neal scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds, leading the East in both categories. For the West, Jason Kidd lead the team with 10 assists in his first All-Star Game appearance. The scoring leaders for the West were David Robinson and Gary Payton, both contributing 18 points. The East won the game by a score of 129–118. There was audible dissatisfaction among the crowd when it was revealed that Jordan would be the game's MVP. Some of them felt that O'Neal deserved the award. However, Jordan played six fewer minutes and had a higher efficiency rating.

Roster

Eastern Conference All-Stars Pos Player Team No. of selections Votes Starters G Penny Hardaway Orlando Magic 2nd 1,050,461 G Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 10th 1,341,422 F Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls 6th 1,289,649 F Grant Hill Detroit Pistons 2nd 1,358,004 C Shaquille O'Neal Orlando Magic 4th 1,290,591 Reserves F Vin Baker Milwaukee Bucks 2nd 259,279 G Terrell Brandon Cleveland Cavaliers 1st — C Patrick Ewing New York Knicks 10th 437,003 F Juwan Howard Washington Bullets 1st — G Reggie Miller Indiana Pacers 3rd 471,162 C Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat 3rd 847,899 F Glen Rice Charlotte Hornets 1st 296,143 Head coach: Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls)

Western Conference All-Stars Pos Player Team No. of selections Votes Starters G Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks 1st 1,049,946 G Clyde Drexler Houston Rockets 9th 1,070,040 F Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns 10th 1,268,195 F Shawn Kemp Seattle SuperSonics 4th 1,021,384 C Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 11th 1,240,329 Reserves F Sean Elliott San Antonio Spurs 2nd — F Karl Malone Utah Jazz 9th 986,028 C Dikembe Mutombo Denver Nuggets 3rd 369,053 G Gary Payton Seattle SuperSonics 3rd — G Mitch Richmond Sacramento Kings 4th 323,619 C David Robinson San Antonio Spurs 7th 1,037,245 G John Stockton Utah Jazz 8th 823,826 Head coach: George Karl (Seattle SuperSonics)