SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time since 1990 and only the second time in the Miami Heat’s four decades, the NBA All-Star Game is coming to Miami, with the city and the Heat to host All-Star Weekend Feb. 18-20, 2028, the Sun Sentinel has confirmed through an industry source.
After lacking the logistical wherewithal to stage the event due to the hold of the Miami International Boat Show during its traditional President’s Weekend timeframe, a shift by that event opened the opportunity for the NBA to again bring its showcase to South Florida.
All-Star Weekend, which features a variety of events, from the Rising Stars Challenge for younger players to the All-Star Celebrity Game to the dunk and 3-point contests during All-Star Saturday to the Sunday All-Star Game, will be held across a variety of South Florida venues. Heat forward Keshad Johnson won last year’s dunk contest in Las Angeles.
While Kaseya Center will host the All-Star Game, also expected to be utilized are the Watsco Center at the University of Miami and the Miami Beach Convention Center, with the league holding a fanfest that runs concurrently during the weekend.
Out of play will be loanDepot park, the Florida Marlins’ stadium, with the NBA focused on holding the event in an NBA arena. That preludes what could have been an All-Star Game under the stars, similar to the NHL’s Winter Classic outdoor showcase at the stadium earlier this year between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.
While loanDepot park would have provided seating beyond Kaseya Center’s 19,600-seat capacity, the NBA instead will move forward at Kaseya Center, with what one source said will “not be a publicly-ticketed event.”
The lack of ticket inventory, due to the requirements of sponsors, is believed to be among the reasons why the Heat — besides the previous timing of the Miami International Boat Show — had taken a reserved approach to again hosting the event, with season-ticket holders to be displaced or limited in ticketing options.
“The date is too problematic in South Florida,” Heat president of business operations Eric Woolworth previously told the Sun Sentinel of attempting to compete against the boat show, in regard to hotel and venue demand, along with other logistics.
Kaseya Center is in the midst of a series of upgrades, all scheduled to be completed prior to 2028 All-Star Weekend.
The 2027 NBA All-Star Game will be held at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Feb. 21, with this the rare year it is not on President’s Weekend, due to the NFL claiming that Sunday for this season’s Super Bowl.
Official VIP and experiential packages for the main events for All-Star Weekend are offered through NBA Experiences. Tickets for the lesser events during All-Star Weekend, such as the celebrity game and Rising Stars, typically become available the December prior to All-Star Weekend.
Ticket packages for this coming season’s All-Star Weekend are priced as high as $20,216 per person (not including hotel or airfare) through NBA Experiences, with a package for upper-level seats behind the basket for the Saturday and Sunday events selling for $1,009.
The Heat’s lone previous time hosting All-Star Weekend was Feb. 10-11, 1990 at since-demolished Miami Arena, amid the Heat’s second season.
During that All-Star Weekend, Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins won the dunk contest, while Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges won the 3-point contest.
As for the Feb. 11, 1990 All-Star Game at Miami Arena, the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 130–113 in front of an announced crowd of 14,810. Despite his team’s loss, Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, after scoring a game-high 22 points.
The coach of the West roster that day was future Heat coach and current Heat President Pat Riley, who was still Lakers coach at the time. The late Chuck Daly, then with the Detroit Pistons, coached the East roster.
With the game Riley’s sixth consecutive appearance as All-Star coach, the game was the last prior to the league’s current rule preventing coaches from working successive All-Star Games.
The game featured 11 of the 12 players that would go on to make the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team coached by Daly.
The East roster for that game was Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Wilkins.
The West roster was Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, James Worthy, John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, Kevin Johnson, Fat Lever, Tom Chambers, AC Green and Rolando Blackman, who was an injury replacement for Karl Malone.
In an event since discontinued, the 1990 All-Star Weekend also featured an NBA Legends All-Star Game. The roster for the victorious East team in that game was Elvin Hayes, Wali Jones, Bobby Jones, Connie Hawkins, Cazzie Russell, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Hazzard, Zelmo Beaty and Archie Clark. The West roster was Rick Barry, Calvin Murphy, Doug Collins, Fred Brown, Dave Bing, Jamaal Wilkes, Spencer Haywood, Bailey Howell, Clifford Ray, and Dave Cowens.
