Over the last few days, the basketball world has been fully focused on the excitement of the NBA All-Star festivities. Fans, players, and celebrities all came together to celebrate the game. It turned out to be a huge success.
In fact, the All-Star Game reportedly drew 8.8 million viewers, the highest number the league has seen since 2011. Now that the celebrations are over, many fans only have one question, and that is when the regular season games will begin again.
Why Haven’t There Been Any NBA Games?
If you have been checking the schedule and wondering why there’s been nothing to watch, the answer is pretty simple. It’s been All-Star Weekend. There have been no regular-season NBA games for the last five days, and that’s completely by design.
Things got started on Friday at 7 p.m. ET when the Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game tipped off at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Right after that, the Rising Stars game followed.
Saturday was packed as well, as Commissioner Adam Silver kicked things off in the morning with his annual All-Star Conference. Then the day moved into the fan-favorite mini-tournament events. Then came Sunday. The main event happened with the actual All-Star Game taking center stage.
Monday and Tuesday? Nothing. No games, no action. Just the league catching its breath before the second half of the season gets going.
Are There Any NBA Games Today?
Today is Wednesday, February 18, and unfortunately, there are still no games. Today is technically the last day of the All-Star break.
When Do NBA Games Resume?
The regular season picks back up on Thursday, February 19. The schedule for Thursday is as follows:
- Houston Rockets at Charlotte Hornets
- Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers
- Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers
- Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards
- Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks
- Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls
- Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs
- Boston Celtics at Golden State Warriors
- Orlando Magic at Sacramento Kings
- Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers
How Did All-Star Weekend Go?
If we see actor Rome Flynn stole the show in the Ruffles Celebrity Game, winning back-to-back MVP honors as he led Team Giannis to a (65-58) win over Team Anthony. In the Rising Stars tournament, Team Vince bested Team Melo 25-24 in a nail-biting finish that came down to a “next bucket wins” format.
Then on Saturday, Damian Lillard claimed his third State Farm 3-Point Contest title. He won that by narrowly beating out Devin Booker in the final round. Team Knicks put up 47 points to win the Kia Shooting Stars competition, and lastly, Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson brought the house down in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest to take the crown.
Then came Sunday’s All-Star Game. It used a brand-new USA vs. World round-robin tournament format. The USA Stars defeated the USA Stripes 47-21 in the championship matchup. If we see Anthony Edwards take home the Kia MVP award, and with 8.8 million viewers tuning in, it’s hard to call the new format anything but a win.
Now with all the fun behind us, it’s time to get back to what really matters, which is the playoff race.
