7. History at the All-Star Game
Cleveland has hosted the NBA All-Star Game twice, in 1981 and 1997, and in each case, the NBA happened to be celebrating a milestone anniversary. In 1981, it was the their 35th season of play, so at halftime of the game, the league’s All-Time team was announced, with Bill Russell garnering the top spot among players, and his Boston Celtics’ coach, Red Auerbach, winning as top NBA head coach of all time.
In 1997, the NBA celebrated 50 years since beginning the league in the 1946-47 season. Again, an all-time team was chosen, with a number of changes. The list had been announced at the start of the season, but the official event brought a host of NBA legends to town. There were 11 current NBA players on that list, with Michael Jordan creeping into the conversation of greatest player of all-time.
The NBA will be celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2021, so perhaps that will be the next time that fans in Cleveland get to again watch history in action.
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