In a year of many unprecedented times when many believed cancellations would ravage the sports industry, there is finally something to be excited about.

Normally the NBA All-Star Game is the date everyone circles on their calendar; it’s the one weekend a year when all the NBA’S best and most talented athletes compete head to head. This year’s All-Star festivities were up in the air for most of the year due to last year’s season getting rescheduled due to COVID-19. Recently, the NBA decided to reinstate the All-Star Game and is now planning to hold the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, March 7th in Atlanta, Georgia. Choosing Georgia makes sense considering the channel broadcasting the game is TNT Studios, located in Atlanta, making it only a short drive from State Farm Arena, where the game is being held. This provides easy access to the event for the TNT camera crews without requiring lots of additional COVID-19 testing and other extensive safety measures.

Shortly after the All-Star Game was reinstated, the first votes began to pile in for who would play in the game. Kevin Durant led all players in the Eastern Conference with 2,302,705 votes, which was slightly ahead of Lebron James who has amounted to 2,288,676 votes, the top total in the Western Conference. In the Western Conference, Steph Curry is a close second in votes as he tallied up 2.11 million votes. The Eastern Conference isn’t as lucky, ranking second in the number of votes is Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1.75 million votes. Only 22 players are selected as NBA All-Stars and drafted to each All-Star team accordingly by the captains, the two best players in the league.

The players of the NBA are on both sides of the fence when it comes to the decision of bringing back the All-Star Game. Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox doesn’t support the idea, he states, “If I’m going to be brutally honest, I think it’s stupid.” De’Aaron Fox believes that the game is being played to generate revenue because in his most recent statement he said, “Obviously, money makes the world go around, so it is what it is.” Denver Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic was previously asked if he would like to participate in the All-Star Game or have a break, he responded with “I was an All-Star last 2 years… I’m in shape. The rest, break, of course, but being an All-Star, it’s an honor, you represent a lot of people, back home, Serbia, Sombor, my family. It’s an honor to be there.”