2017 NBA All-Star Game

The 2017 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 19, 2017, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2016–17 season. It was the 66th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, home of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 192–182. Anthony Davis was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player after scoring 52 points, at the time the second most ever by a player in an NBA All-Star Game. The game was televised nationally by TNT and TBS in the United States.

The NBA initially planned to hold the 2017 All-Star Game at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the Charlotte Hornets; it would have been the second time that Charlotte hosted the All-Star Game, following the 1991 event at the now-demolished Charlotte Coliseum. On August 19, 2016, the NBA chose to move the 2017 All-Star Game to New Orleans, due to controversy surrounding North Carolina's "bathroom bill", commonly known as HB2. It was the first major sporting event in the United States to be relocated for political reasons since 1990; in that instance, the National Football League (NFL) relocated Super Bowl XXVII out of Tempe, Arizona, because the state did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act/HB2 became law in March 2016. It banned, among other things, North Carolinian city governments from passing ordinances that protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination. Charlotte already passed such an ordinance in February 2016. However, when HB2 went into effect, it terminated said ordinance. Consequently, talks about the National Basketball Association pulling its All-Star Game from Charlotte began to rise.

Factors into this relocation threat were that out of all major professional sports leagues, the NBA reportedly has the largest LGBT fanbase. Another was that the NBA fanbase skewed much younger on average, and younger Americans are more supportive of LGBT rights.

In the days after HB2 was signed, Dallas and especially Atlanta both suggested they could host the All-Star Game if the NBA removed it. Atlanta made their public suggestion to the NBA less than a week after HB2 passed, mentioning it had vetoed a similar bill and had success with hosting other major events of a similar size. In response, however, the NBA stuck with Charlotte. On April 5, NBA analyst and former player Charles Barkley voiced his support to move the All-Star Game. He joined other newspaper journalists, including journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post, who advised the NBA to do the same.

On April 10, a group of six US Senators wrote to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, telling him to move the game in response to HB2. Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy also spoke out in favor of moving the game. Two days later an Oakland city council member announced her intention for Oakland to host, again using HB2 as the primary reason for moving the game.

During the Board of Governors meetings, the NBA announced they did not have plans to remove the game from Charlotte and did not vote to; however, Silver said HB2 remained a problem and, according to an official press release, was also concerned about Charlotte's capability to host because of HB2. Silver next spoke about the issue on April 21 at the Associated Press Sports Editors commissioner meetings and on ESPN's Mike and Mike morning radio show. During both appearances he stated the NBA would rather work with the state and city governments to help change the law than issue a definitive statement. However, he also made clear the game would move if HB2 wasn't changed.

On June 2, Silver met with reporters to discuss the future of the All-Star Game, stating the league was "looking at alternatives"; however, he went on to say, "...it [would not be] productive to draw a line in the sand, and we'd be moving on if I didn't think there were constructive discussions going on in North Carolina right now." Six days later, Barkley again spoke out on the subject, merely repeating his thoughts that the game should be moved. On July 12, the Associated Press reported that several well-known technology companies had written a letter to Silver telling him to move the game, using HB2 as their main reason for doing so. Silver gave an update later that day during a league conference, again saying no vote had been taken on whether to move the game. However, he did say, "...the calendar is not our friend." Silver also said the final decision would be made by summer's end.