1997 NBA All-Star Game

Result

MVP: Glen Rice

Played as part of the NBA's 50th-anniversary celebrations, with the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History honored at halftime.

Box score

MVP: Glen Rice.

Bench (10+ points): Glen Rice (26), Vin Baker (19), Terrell Brandon (10), Tim Hardaway (10)

Bench (10+ points): Latrell Sprewell (19), Detlef Schrempf (11), Eddie Jones (10)

Game context

The 1997 All-Star Game, played February 9 at Gund Arena in Cleveland, doubled as the centerpiece of the NBA's 50th-anniversary celebrations, with a halftime ceremony honoring the league's self-selected 50 Greatest Players in History; of that group, only three were absent — Pete Maravich (who had died in 1988), an injured Shaquille O'Neal, and Jerry West, recovering from ear surgery — while Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, and Patrick Ewing attended the ceremony despite being unable to play in the game itself because of injuries. In a departure from the usual specially designed All-Star uniforms, players wore their regular team jerseys for the game, a small but visible format quirk unique to this edition. Charlotte Hornets forward Glen Rice was named MVP after an explosive shooting performance, scoring 26 points in just 25 minutes and setting two scoring records in the process: his 20 points in the third quarter broke Hal Greer's single-quarter record of 19, set in 1968, and his 24 points across the second half surpassed the previous mark of 23 shared by Wilt Chamberlain and Tom Chambers. Doug Collins's Eastern Conference led throughout, up 34-21 after the first quarter and 60-57 at halftime, before Rice's third-quarter explosion helped push the lead to 97-87 through three, and the East closed out a 132-120 win over Rudy Tomjanovich's Western Conference. Michael Jordan added his own historical footnote, recording the first triple-double in All-Star Game history — 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists — a feat that would not be matched again until Blake Griffin did so in 2011. Injuries opened the door for several less-established players to make an impact: a 20-year-old Kevin Garnett, in just his second NBA season, and Chris Webber were among the injury replacements who filled out the rosters, giving emerging stars a rare early opportunity on the league's biggest stage. The 50th-anniversary framing gave the entire weekend an unusually reflective, celebratory tone distinct from a typical midseason exhibition, positioning the game not just as a showcase for current talent but as a bridge connecting the league's founding generation — many of the 50 Greatest Players honorees had played in the league's earliest, pre-shot-clock decades — to its current stars, with Jordan's triple-double and Rice's record-setting scoring outburst providing the modern-era highlights against that historical backdrop. Gund Arena, which had opened just three years earlier in 1994, gave Cleveland a modern venue befitting the league's 50th-anniversary showcase, and the game drew a strong national television rating (11.2/19 share on NBC) reflecting the extra interest generated by the anniversary festivities. Rice's third-quarter scoring explosion remains one of the most efficient single-period outbursts in the event's history, delivered in barely more than a third of the total minutes he played.

Sources

• Basketball-Reference — NBA All-Star Game History
• Basketball-Reference — NBA & ABA All-Star Game MVP (Kobe Bryant Trophy)
• Wikipedia — 1997 NBA All-Star Game