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NBA Honors 75th Anniversary Team With Touching Ceremony at 2022 All-Star Game

Many of the league‘s best were on hand at the All-Star Game on Sunday to be honored as the greatest players of all time.

Zach Koons

NBA Honors 75th Anniversary Team With Touching Ceremony at 2022 All-Star Game
NBA Honors 75th Anniversary Team With Touching Ceremony at 2022 All-Star Game /

The NBA‘s 75th Anniversary Team was honored with a touching tribute during halftime of the 2022 All-Star Game on Sunday night.

In front of a full crowd at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, the league celebrated the 75 greatest players in NBA history with an extravagant ceremony. Many current and former players who made the list were in the building to be recognized, with those that were unable to make it tuning in virtually.

Director Spike Lee began the festivities with a speech before the 75 players were announced by position group. J.B. Smoove, Tiffany Haddish and Usher gave introductions for the forwards, centers and guards who made the cut.

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The ceremony contained a number of heartwarming moments as it worked to encapsulate the 75 years of league history. Michael Jordan embraced LeBron James, Celtics greats Bill Russell and Larry Bird waved to the crowd virtually, and the fans on hand in Cleveland gave one of the loudest cheers of the night when the late Kobe Bryant was honored.

In addition to being honored at halftime, Stephen Curry stole the show Sunday night. Playing for Team LeBron, the Warriors’ sharpshooter drilled an All-Star Game record 16 three-pointers and scored a game-high 50 points to win the inaugural NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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