British Basketball League All-Star Game

The BBL All-Star Game was the annual basketball All-Star Game of the British Basketball League which lasted from 1989 until 2002 and then revived from 2009 until 2011. The event was based on the original NBA concept, including a slam dunk and a three-point shootout contest and it was broadcast for several seasons in the United States as it featured a great number of American professional players who played in the BBL. The main part of the event was the game between the North and South All-Stars. In the mid-90s it used to be known as the Dairylea Dunkers All-Star Game and in its last editions as NIA All-Star Game.

Barbados player Nigel Lloyd holds the record with the most All-Star Games with 10 consecutive picks from 1993 until the last one in 2002, the year he retired from professional basketball at the age of 40, after 18 full season in British basketball. The coach with the most appearances is Nick Nurse who holds the record with six, coaching both North and South sides.

Background

In 1987 the BBL was founded as a breakaway competition formed by 15 teams who previously competed in the English National League and the Scottish National League following the NBA's franchise system. The purpose of the movement was to professionalise and promote the sport in Great Britain and catch up with the top European leagues like the ACB, the Lega Basket Serie A and the LNB Pro A who had already created the All-Star Game event. Therefore, after a successful first season sponsored by Carlsberg the BBL decided to launch an All-Star Game designed on the NBA pattern.

History

Most of the games took place on Northern soil in England, where the crowd interest for basketball was higher. By the first demise of the event, the South led in total wins the North with a 7–6 score. After 2002 were persistent calls from former British basketball players to bring the event back in the last decade. In the beginning the busy schedule of the clubs kept those thoughts away from reality, but the All-Star Game returned in the 2008–09 season and lasted for 3 seasons, featuring now the Great Britain All-Stars against the Rest of the World All Stars game. The slam dunk contest was moved to the BBL Cup final match, during its interval.

List of games

Bold: Team that won the game.

Season	Date	Arena	City	Team	Score	Team	MVP
1991–92	March, 1992			Northern All-Stars	defeated	Southern All-Stars	John Trezvant
1992–93	March, 1993			Northern All-Stars	defeated	Southern All-Stars	John Trezvant (2)
1993-94	March, 1994	Granby Halls	Leicester	Northern All-Stars	140-148	Southern All-Stars	Tyrone Thomas
1997-98	March 22, 1998	Sheffield Arena	Sheffield	Northern All-Stars	168-175	Southern All-Stars
1998-99	February 7, 1999	Utilita Arena Newcastle	Newcastle	Northern All-Stars	156-158	Southern All-Stars	Ted Berry
1999-00	February 5, 2000	Manchester Arena	Manchester	Northern All-Stars	177-180	Southern All-Stars	Shawn Myers
2000-01	January 20, 2001	Utilita Arena Newcastle	Newcastle	Northern All-Stars	161-148	Southern All-Stars	Tony Windless
2001-02	January 20, 2002	Utilita Arena Newcastle	Newcastle	Northern All-Stars	142-196	Southern All-Stars	Rico Alderson
2002-2008	Not held
2008-09	May 5, 2009	Arena Birmingham	Birmingham	Great Britain All-Stars	117-124	Rest of the World All-Stars	Chris Sanders
2009-10	May 9, 2010	Arena Birmingham	Birmingham	Great Britain All-Stars	94-110	Rest of the World All-Stars	Mike Cook
2010-11	April 30, 2011	Arena Birmingham	Birmingham	Great Britain All-Stars	115-119	Rest of the World All-Stars	Kadiri Richard

Wins by team (1989-2002)

Team	Wins
Northern All Stars	7
Southern All Stars	6

Players with most appearances

Player	All-Star	Editions	MVP
Nigel Lloyd	10	1993-2002	-
Peter Scantlebury	8	1990-1997	-
Tony Windless	7	1995-2001	2001
Tony Dorsey	6	1995-2000	1996
Karl Brown	6	1991–1995, 1997	-
Kevin St. Kitts	6	1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995	-
Ted Berry	5	1998-2002	1999
Steve Bucknall	5	1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001	-
Jason Siemon	5	1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002	-

Slam Dunk Contest

Season	Slam Dunk Champion	Team	Runner-up	Team
1990-91	Leo Rogers	Worthing Bears
1992-93	John Trezvant	Leicester Riders	Leo Rogers	Thames Valley Tigers
1993-94	John Trezvant (2)	Leicester Riders	Charlie Mandt	Derby Bucks
2009-10	Guy Dupuy	Milton Keynes Lions	Kadiri Richard	Newcastle Eagles
2010-11	Kadiri Richard	Newcastle Eagles	Stefan Gill	Milton Keynes Lions
2011-12	Nathan Schall	Milton Keynes Lions
2013-14	Joe Ikhinmwin	London Lions

The new era of All-Star Games

In the 2012–13 season the BBL in collaboration with the Irish league launched a joint All-Star Game featuring the best players from both leagues. The event took place on March 31, 2013. The following 2013–14 season the All-Star Game featured a battle between England and Scotland selects from the BBL.

External links

• https://www.britball.com/profiles/