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NBA All-Star Game

NBA All-Star Ratings Up

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LOS ANGELES – The NBA’s midseason showcase finally got the bounce it’s been chasing. The first All-Star broadcast on NBC since 2002 averaged 8.8 million viewers across broadcast and streaming, marking the event’s biggest audience since 2011, according to preliminary Nielsen data and Adobe Analytics. The number combined NBC, Peacock and NBC’s Telemundo.

That number nearly doubled last year’s total of 4.7 million viewers (up 87%), a surge tied to the new “USA vs. the World” format that gave Sunday night an actual hook beyond highlights and handshakes.

The audience topped out at 9.8 million in the 7-7:15 p.m. ET window, as USA Stripes squeezed past the World team 48-45 in the tightest, highest-leverage stretch of the tournament.

On the floor, Anthony Edwards picked up MVP honors with a 32-point, nine-rebound and three-assist line for the USA Stars (across three 12-minute games), while Victor Wembanyama powered the World side with 33 points, eight boards and two blocks.

It wasn’t perfect, but the format delivered what the league has been pleading for in recent years.

The TV window helped, too. The game followed a full day of coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and fed directly into NBC’s prime-time programming.

–Field Level Media

Beverly Hills Slop

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LOS ANGELES – When Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown spoke with reporters after Sunday’s All-Star Game in Inglewood, Calif., the topic quickly went from basketball to an incident between Brown and the Beverly Hills Police Department a night earlier.

And Brown’s account of events stands in stark contrast to those of the Beverly Hills PD.

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On Saturday night, police were called to a home where Brown was hosting what he called a “panel” — an event for his personal brand, 741, and Oakley, of which Brown says he is a brand partner.

But when police showed up, they said the event had to end because a permit for the event was previously denied.

“On Saturday, February 14, the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) responded to an event taking place at a private residence in the Trousdale neighborhood of (Beverly Hills),” the BHPD told The Boston Globe in statement Sunday. “An event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address.

“Despite the fact that the permit was denied, organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur. BHPD responded and shut down the unpermitted event.”

The claim about the permit was one of the issues that angered Brown.

“That was not true,” Brown told reporters. “We didn’t need a permit because the owner of the house, that was his space. We were family friends. He opened up the festivities to us so we didn’t have to. We never applied for one. … I didn’t have to pay for the house or anything. They just opened it up. I had to pay for the build-out, but it was hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted for an event that was supposed to be positive.”

Saturday night, a video showing Brown speaking with a police officer at the house was posted to social media. In the video, Brown is seen repeatedly asking why the event was being shut down, with the officer said “the City” was shutting down the event.

“(I’m) in LA, we’re just trying to have an event, a panel, talking about culture, talking about future, talking about leadership, and for whatever reason I feel like we’re being targeted,” Brown told the camera.

Back at the All-Star Game, Brown said the house belonged to Jim Jannard, the founder of Oakley, and that he did not have to pay to use the house for the event.

“I’m offended by Beverly Hills, by the statement they put out, like we applied for something and didn’t get it and we did it anyway,” Brown added. “Like we were insubordinate. I know how to follow the rules. … It just seemed like somebody, you know, didn’t want whatever we had going on, to go on. Because out of everyone to be doing something (in the neighborhood), I was the only one that gets shut down.”

During the interview, Brown repeated that several hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent setting up the event, and that the owner of the house is considering filing a lawsuit.

“It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” he added. “I don’t think the BPDH made the right call here. The statement they put out was not accurate.”

–Field Level Media

NBA All-Star Game: We Are the World

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INGLEWOOD – Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey scored nine points and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards added eight as USA Stars came out on top during the All-Star Game on Sunday with an easy 47-21 mini-tournament victory over USA Stripes. The three-team round-robin tournament of short 12-minute games also included Team World, made up of international stars, and was the latest incarnation of the ever-changing All-Star Game format that went with four teams in a tournament-style bracket last year.

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Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also scored eight points and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons added six as the younger USA Stars avenged an earlier 42-40 defeat to the veteran USA Stripes in the three-game round robin.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Maxey went 4 of 8 from the floor in the 12-minute title game and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Edwards went 3 of 5 with a pair of 3-pointers. Edwards scored 32 total points in his teams’ three games and was named MVP.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored six points and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James added five for USA Stripes.

USA Stars took control early in the title game by grabbing an early 12-1 lead, with Maxey scoring seven of the points. Team Stripes was within 18-9 with 7:03 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers from James and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, but USA Stars dominated from there.

A 15-0 run eliminated any potential drama as USA Stars led 33-9 with 4:19 remaining.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored just one point in the title game, while going 0 of 4 from the floor. It came after he dominated the final round-robin game with 31 points in 12 minutes of a 48-45 victory over Team World to advance his side to the final.

In the opening game of the three-team round robin, USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in extra time on a 3-pointer from the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes.

–Field Level Media

NBA Says World “Be” Me

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INGLEWOOD – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Inside an arena covered by a shell that could pass for a globe, the NBA will try to entertain on Sunday while also reaching out to the rest of the world.

The NBA All-Star Game’s latest concept involves a team of the league’s top international players competing against two teams composed of domestic talent. The format will be a round-robin, leading to a championship game after one of the three teams is eliminated through a series of head-to-head matchups.

Team World will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada, yet still features the talents of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of Serbia, Luka Doncic of Slovenia and Victor Wembanyama of France among its nine players.

The USA Stars team skews younger with Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards, while USA Stripes boasts experience with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard of the host Los Angeles Clippers.

Leonard is eager to showcase what the Clippers’ two-year-old Intuit Dome is all about. He appears less enthusiastic about the All-Star Game format that departs from traditional norms.

“I know it’s three teams and I’m like, ‘Is it a pickup game where we wait until somebody (wins)?” Leonard said. “I’d rather just be East and West and go out there and compete and see what the outcome is.”

At first glance, the setup appears to give players worldwide a chance to represent themselves in basketball’s best league, but even that opportunity feels somewhat empty. At least until the competition kicks off, it does.

“For me, I’m going to play like I played every year,” Jokic said Saturday. “… I’m not sure that it is going to bring (more) fire to me, no, because I play (that way) every game the same.”

The NBA is known for setting trends, but Sunday’s format appears to draw inspiration from the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off last year and the ongoing international showdown that is the Milan Cortina Olympics.

And yet, it doesn’t seem to be generating the same passion as either event. Jokic even has a prediction about how it all will unfold.

“We are going to have (veteran) OGs and maybe they’re going to play the most. They’re going to try to prove they can still be in this league,” Jokic said. “They are really good players. Probably all of them are Hall of Famers.

“I think Europeans are going to probably pass the ball a lot and have fun out there. OGs (are) probably going to win it, and the third team is probably going to dunk the most times.”

For all of the complaints that All-Star Weekend no longer moves the needle, Jokic does point out what is on the line for each squad. Perhaps that is the lens to use come Sunday.

“They need something to complain about (and) I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, to be honest, the All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend,” Durant said about All-Star Game criticism. “Just here to celebrate the game of basketball. People still coming to celebrate the game of basketball. They’re coming to watch.”

–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media

A Walk Down NBA All-Star Memory Lane

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The NBA All-Star Game has taken a few lumps over the past few years. After years and years of entertaining games – earning the recognition as the best All-Star Game in sports – the Sunday night All-Star Games and the NBA Rookie/Rising Stars Games turned into three-point hoists and dunk fests, with barely a lick of defense being played on either end of the court.

The final scores of the last four All-Star Games tells the tale:

  • 2024 – East 211, West 186
  • 2023 – Team Giannis 184, Team Lebron 175
  • 2022 – Team Lebron 163, Team Durant 160
  • 2021 – Team Lebron 170, Team Durant 150

In 2020, barely a month before the global pandemic shut down the NBA, the world of sports and then the world itself, the league experimented with the infamous “Elam Ending” which resulted in a Team Lebron 157, Team Durant 155 thriller at the United Center in Chicago.

It was at the 2020 game in Chicago when the critics and nay-sayers thought the NBA finally stumbled into the perfect solution to the end the lackluster games. The fourth quarter of that 2020 NBA All-Star Game was as intense as any NBA Playoff game, the biggest stars in the league holding nothing back, blocking shots, taking charges, you name it. At the end of three quarters, a 133-124 Team Giannis lead over Team Lebron placed the final/winning “target score” at 157.

Team Lebron came storming back with James’ teammate Kawhi Leonard taking MVP honors and Anthony Davis draining the game-winning free thrown to cement the comeback victory. The intensity and excitement was back in the NBA All-Star Game, but the wonderous story of Chicago was short-lived. The most recent pair of ASGs sealed the deal. Changes had to be made.

That brings us to this weekend as the NBA has completely changed the format and instituted a Friday night play-in for one team to advance to Sunday. The G-League All-Stars faced the Rising Stars, the latter led to victory by San Antonio’s Stephon Castle who helped his team qualify for Sunday night. The four teams of eight players will compete in a mini-tournament with all three games played to the target score of 40.

The Friday night contests were highly competitive and entertaining, so there’s some cautious optimism for a tripleheader of great games Sunday Night. WWYI is sticking to its deep-rooted thoughts of enjoying the All-Star Weekend and not putting the exhibition to the same litmus test as a regular season or playoff game. Overall, the weekend is supposed to be fun. And that means fun for everyone, the fans, the players, the NBA industry as a whole (sponsors, guests, family members). Too often it is forgotten that the All-Star Game was initiated by original NBA publicity man Haskell Cohen, on March 2, 1951, as a way of gaining interest in the game of basketball. In other words, it’s a giant photo op.

Let’s not forget that on Sunday night.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: This section of notes might qualify as a “Humor Me” and “Read On” section as the NBA All-Star Weekend brings back a lot of great memories from this columnist’s 25+ year stint of attending the games. Here’s a random list of memories, anecdotes and some “Inside Stuff” from the 1981-1993 era of NBA All-Star events. I’ll shoot for 1993 to 2025 another day.

1981: Although I’d watched many an NBA All-Star Game (ASG), and scored a bunch in my very own basketball scorebook, my first ASG working with the NBA put me in front of the TV screen once again. … As an intern, I did not make the cut to attend the game in Richfield, Ohio as the NBA celebrated its 35th Anniversary. I did create my very first NBA Media Guide, cranking out bios of dozens upon dozens of players to prepare for the 24 players selected to play. There were a few traveling hockey tournaments when “the boys” were playing cards or going out for a refreshment and I was holed-up in my hotel room typing (yes, typing on paper) a half-dozen or more bios per night.

1982: The game was at the brand-spanking new Brendan Byrne Arena in beautiful East Rutherford, NJ (Meadowlands) and I was excited to work (and enjoy) the festivities as hotel HQ was the Grand Hyatt in NYC. The league was kind enough to furnish me with some tickets for friends and family, too. … Trivia note: The Saturday of the 1982 weekend was the starting point for official NBA All-STAR SATURDAY events. In ‘82, that merely consisted of a few media pick-up games and the Continental Basketball Association All-Star Game.

Now, I’ll start a little word association for a whole slew of games but will call it quits with this section in about 1993.

1983: Marvin Gaye doing the greatest USA National Anthem of all-time at The Fabulous Forum and CBS Director, the late Sandy Grossman in his Century Plaza suite, playing a recording of the anthem and the first 10-minutes of the game itself, which might’ve been one of the great segments in NBA history. Every time someone new came into the suite, Sandy cranked it up again, saying, “You’ve gotta see this!” (I’d rank the ‘83 game as No. 2 on my all-time list).

1984: The “real” beginning of NBA All-Star Saturday. A great “Old Timer’s Game,” featuring the likes of the late Celtics’ great Tommy Heinsohn and Chicago’s Johnny “Red” Kerr pulling on each other’s shorts, then tossing pinpoint behind the back bounce passes for lay-ups. … A post ASG recap meeting hatched the idea of calling them all “Legends” rather than Old Timers and that term certainly stuck. Legends they are.

1985: A crowd of 43,146 witnessed Michael Jordan getting the 10th Avenue Freeze-Out and Earvin “Magic” Johnson deciding Ralph Sampson was going to be the MVP. One memory stands out: The game was played in the inflatable Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, and at some point someone wrongly opened a door and the air flow created a giant draft that blew every single piece of paper, including all of our special 1985 NBA All-Star Game logo play-by-play sheets all over the Dome in the pregame.

1986: In a pregame production meeting, CBS producer extraordinaire Michael Burks asked that we have an old fashioned chalk board in the East Locker Room because KC Jones would always sketch-out some plays and important team goals and instructions, and Mike wanted the visual – something he could never do in a “real” game. The problem? Reunion Arena had not an old fashioned chalkboard in the house. … However, the Hyatt Regency had a very nice chalkboard or two, and it was within walking distance to the arena, across a large courtyard. … Seemed fine, until a rare winter, ice storm hit Dallas that Saturday when I “stole” the blackboard and wheeled it to Reunion in the snow. … I wonder if that chalkboard ever made it back?

1987: A great overtime All-Star Game when injury replacement Tom Chambers of the Seattle SuperSonics won (and earned) MVP honors in a sold-out Kingdome. There’s memorable footage of Dallas’ Rolando Blackman draining two free throws to put the game into OT, shouting, “Confidence, baby, Confidence.” → MUST WATCH CLIP is HERE. (Notice the four East players converging on Blackman as he drove the lane).

1988: Chicago Stadium. Coldest day I’ve ever experienced in my life, but a “normal” day for anyone from Chicago. The Saturday temperature read (-22) – (-60 with the wind chill factor) but it warmed up to a balmy ZERO degrees on Sunday. Larry Bird won the Three-Point Contest in grand fashion and Michael Jordan took flight that weekend, that is for sure. (I’d rank this one as No. 3 on my list).

1989-90-91: Houston, Miami and Charlotte. … In Houston we utilized the infamous Astrodome, a place I’d seen on TV as a young New York Mets fan when the Mets played against the Toy Cannon (Jimmy Wynn) and the Astros. … In 1990, the All-Star Saturday buzz was undermined when Buster Douglas upset heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in Tokyo. … In ‘91, the Gulf War broke out about 10 days before the ASW and security became a main focus, turning a lot of plans made the previous March (I scouted the ACC Tournament) upside down and sideways. … A stunning national anthem by pianist Bruce Hornsby, accompanied by Branford Marsalis stands out more than Charles Barkley’s MVP effort. Getting that piano on and off the court was a major accomplishment.

1992: The ‘92 All-Star Game was the best and most memorable of my lifetime. The entire story of Earvin “Magic” Johnson retiring from the NBA after he learned he had contracted the HIV virus shook the league (and the sports industry) at the core. Earvin’s performance was a storybook unfolding one play at a time until the 4th quarter crescendo of amazement. No writing can do it justice.

1993: A very vivid memory leads me to a last two minutes of the ‘93 game and a sprint around courtside which produced an MVP vote that was never counted, as the

ASG at Salt Lake City went into OT. We tore up the ballots and, ten minutes later, it was deja vu all over again. The West defeated the East 135-132 and hometown stars, Karl Malone and John Stockton actually tied for All-Star MVP. I remember doing the counting on a press table in the far right corner of the Delta Center and showing the media who happened to be sitting there the result to prove its authenticity, stacking the voting ballots (if I remember it was six-six and one for Michael Jordan). I think I counted it three times before we passed the news of the tie along to the NBA Game Operations people at the scorer’s table and to NBC Sports as they staged the presentations.

There are thousands of other great memories from 1994 to 2008 when I bid adieu to my job at the NBA. There’s also quite a few from ‘08 until today, as I rarely missed a game – either returning in person in NOLA (twice), Houston, or watching on TV.

In general, I might call myself a traditionalist but for the ASW, I like the new ideas and attempts by the league office to make the weekend more exciting and the games more competitive. We’ll see on Sunday night if it works in the new format.

THIS JUST IN: The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced this weekend that Boston Celtics Vice President of Media Services and Alumni Relations, Jeff Twiss, has been named the 2025 recipient of the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.

The John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award was instituted by the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees in 1973 and is the most prestigious award presented by the Hall of Fame outside of Enshrinement. Named in honor of Hall of Famer John W. Bunn (Class of 1964), the first chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame Committee who served from 1949-64, the award honors coaches, players, and contributors whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional, and/or the international game.

“Jeff’s contributions to the Celtics organization are too numerous to list, but perhaps his biggest impact is as a living embodiment of the best aspects of what it means to be a Boston Celtic,” said Rich Gotham, President of the Boston Celtics. “It was Red Auerbach who said, ‘The Celtics are a way of life,’ and Jeff represents the selflessness and the drive to uplift others for the greater good that is at the heart of that notion.”

Jeff Twiss has been a leader of the Celtics PR staff through 40 post-season experiences, including nine Eastern Conference Finals appearances, seven NBA Finals appearances, and four NBA Championships (1984, ‘86, ‘08, ‘24). Twiss joined the organization in 1981, after being hired by Red Auerbach. He has served as a conduit for the media with Celtics coaches, players and staff and has overseen alumni relations for the organization. Twiss was elected by his peers to serve as President of the National Basketball Public Relations Directors Association in 1987. In 1992, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Vermont. In 1999, Twiss received the University of Massachusetts Sports Management department’s Harold J. VanderZwaag Distinguished Alumni Award. In September 2004, he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. And in 2005, Twiss received the NBA’s McHugh/Splaver “Tribute to Excellence” award. Twiss was recognized by the Boston Press Photographer’s Association as their Sports Personality Award winner for 2009. On September 18, 2024, he received the International Sports Heritage Association Legacy Award.

“Jeff Twiss is a beloved member of the Celtics, and we are all so excited that he is being honored with the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Boston Celtics President of Basketball OperationsBrad Stevens. “Jeff is the definition of a servant-leader and has made an incredible impact not only within these walls, but on his peers across the league. In addition to his great work in Public Relations, he has been a caretaker of our history and an ambassador that keeps multiple generations of Celtics players and staff connected. I’m personally thankful to have had the privilege of working with Jeff for the past twelve years – roughly a quarter of his total time with the Celtics. When I think about that impact over time, it’s clear why he’s a Hall of Famer.”

NBA to Play ’25 All-Star Game in SF

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SAN FRANCISCO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The National Basketball Association announced that the San Francisco Bay Area has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2025. as the 74th NBA All-Star Game will be played at Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.

NBA All-Star 2025 will mark the first time that the event has been held at Chase Center, which opened in 2019. Additional signature events will take place throughout the Bay Area, including at Moscone Convention Center, Oakland Arena and the Warriors’ Oakland facility.  The Warriors previously hosted NBA All-Star in the Bay Area in 2000 at Oakland Arena in Oakland and in 1967 at the Cow Palace, home of the San Francisco Warriors, in Daly City.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement during a press conference at Chase Center, where he was joined by Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob, Warriors Co-Executive Chairman Peter Guber, Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Brandon Schneider, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

“We are thrilled to host our NBA All-Star festivities in the San Francisco Bay Area, where there is a long and storied history of basketball,” said Silver.  “I want to thank Joe Lacob, Peter Guber and the entire Warriors organization for their support in bringing NBA All-Star back to the Bay Area.”

“It has been 25 years since the NBA All-Star Game was played in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we are delighted to bring the NBA’s marquee event to Chase Center in 2025,” said Lacob. “In addition to the significant economic impact and tourism business that NBA All-Star will drive, we look forward to hosting various events in San Francisco and Oakland to bring together basketball fans from all over the world.”

“San Francisco is honored that NBA All-Star 2025 will be coming to our incredible city,” said Breed. “Major sporting events like this bring excitement to our city and generate significant economic activity that creates jobs and support for our small businesses. We are proud to be home to an organization like the Golden State Warriors that not only provides thrills to all of our amazing fans night after night at Chase Center, but is a great partner to our city and supporter of communities across San Francisco.”

NBA All-Star on-court events will tip off on Friday, Feb. 14 at Chase Center with NBA Rising Stars, an annual showcase for top rookies and second-year NBA players.  On Feb. 15, the fourth NBA HBCU Classic will feature men’s basketball programs from two historically Black colleges and universities followed by State Farm All-Star Saturday Night which will feature the Kia Skills Challenge, the STARRY 3-Point Contest and AT&T Slam Dunk.  NBA All-Star 2025 will culminate with the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 16.

The NBA will host several events for fans of all ages at venues throughout the Bay Area, including at Moscone Convention Center, Oakland Arena and the Warriors’ Oakland Facility. These events, including NBA All-Star Practice, the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the official NBA All-Star fan event, will feature basketball, media, technology and pop culture as diverse and vibrant as the Bay Area.

The league will also continue its commitment to social impact with a full schedule of community engagement events during NBA All-Star 2025.

NBA All-Star: Back to East vs West?

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A possible change to the NBA All-Star Game could bring back a familiar format — East vs. West.

With an eye toward increased competitiveness in the exhibition game, the NBA and the players’ union are considering that change and possibly others in the next collective bargaining agreement, The Athletic reported.

The league’s Board of Governors and general managers have talked of scrapping the current format, which has two players drafting teams of All-Stars for the game, regardless of the players’ conference. Changes are possible for the 2023-24 season, per the Athletic.

The game featured All-Stars from the Eastern and Western conferences until 2018. A format tweak in 2020, known as the Elam ending, had the fourth quarter played without a game clock, but with a set target score. The first team to reach that point total was the winner.

This year’s All-Star Game was the first in which the captains chose sides just before tipoff. In previous incarnations under the captain-selecting format, the teams were determined well in advance of game day. The game was met with severe criticism, including coach Mike Malone of the Denver Nuggets stating, “It’s an honor to be here, it’s an honor to be a part of a great weekend, great players, but that is the worst basketball game ever played,” Malone said.

–Field Level Media

NBA Unveils New All-Star MVP Trophy

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NBA Honors the late Kobe Bryant with New Trophy for MVP

NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The National Basketball Association unveiled newly designed NBA All-Star trophies in celebration of the league’s 75th Anniversary season. Designed in partnership with artist Victor Solomon, the trophies will be presented for the first time during NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland. The lineup of hardware is headlined by The Kobe Bryant Trophy, which will be awarded to the Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

“As the NBA celebrates its 75th Anniversary season, this collection of All-Star trophies represents the continued growth and evolution of our game,” said Christopher Arena, Head of On-Court and Brand Partnerships at the NBA. “Through our collaboration with Victor Solomon, these trophies incorporate deep storytelling, reimagining our previous All-Star trophies in a modern aesthetic, and now serve as the new standards of excellence that future generations of All-Stars will strive to reach each year.”

Solomon’s work in this space includes his “Literally Balling” project, where he explores the icons and symbols of basketball as a platform for conceptual storytelling. His art has detailed the high process techniques involved in creating and designing stained glass basketball backboards, crystal basketballs and cast ceramic basketballs reconstructed with a Kintsugi process, and has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Shanghai.

“For the past few years, the NBA and I have proudly and tirelessly worked to reconsider what a trophy is, has been and could be,” said Solomon. “Redesigning the All-Star trophies gave us a special opportunity to create event awards worthy of the energy and excitement the moment creates, while introducing the full collection’s visual, aesthetic language. The occasion also gave us the privilege and responsibility to develop an entirely new silhouette worthy of being named ‘The Kobe Bryant Trophy’ for the Kia NBA All-Star MVP for which, in the spirit of its namesake, we threw out all conventions and challenged ourselves to reorient how we thought about ‘the game.’”