The Boston Celtics are one of the most important franchises in NBA history. The Celtics are tied for having the most championships won with the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 titles.
- The Celtics Plan To Make A Bid
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The Celtics have also had some of the greatest players the game has ever seen on their roster. This includes the late Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and Larry Bird.
With all this history and star power, you would think that the Celtics, who’ve been around since 1946, would have hosted plenty of NBA All-Star Games. In actuality, the Celtics have only hosted four All-Star Games.
The crazy part of this stat is that the last time Boston was home to the All-Star Game, the year was 1964. Yes, you read that correctly. This means Boston has gone over 58 years and 7 months from this writing without hosting an All-Star Game.
The big question now is this: why hasn’t the All-Star Game returned to the city of Boston?
The Celtics Plan To Make A Bid
The 1964 NBA All-Star Game was held in Boston, and the Eastern Conference squad came out on top with a 111-107 over the Western Conference team. Oscar Robertson took home the MVP after posting 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists.
The All-Star Game has not returned to Bean Town since, and there may be a few good reasons why. For one, Boston gets extremely cold in the winter, and the NBA likes to have their games played in warmer areas, like Boston’s rival team’s city, Los Angeles, which has hosted a record six All-Star Games.
This cold weather theory isn’t necessarily true, though. Last year Cleveland, a city that sees extreme cold temperatures in the winter, hosted the All-Star Game. Next year’s game will be held in Utah, again, a city that gets very cold.
The cold weather theory doesn’t seem to be legit, but this next reason makes a lot of sense. The Celtics don’t own the TD Garden, the arena in which they play their home games. This means that the Celtics would have to work with the Boston Bruins of the NHL to make sure the schedule would fit to have the game played in Boston.
Another reason could be the fact that All-Star Games don’t necessarily bring much revenue to the host city, despite being the grand event that it is. So, Boston may have felt it was a waste of time to apply… But this appears to be changing.
According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, Celtics ownership plans to make a bid on a future All-Star Game. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver even recently commented on the idea of bringing the All-Star Game back to the city of Boston:
“I don’t know if you knew this, but the first two NBA All-Star Games ever, which were in the early ’50s, were played in Boston,” Silver said. “So, we’ve got to get back there. For Wyc (Grousbeck) and Steve (Pagliuca) and ownership there, I know that’s something they care about.
“I can say as a fan, as the commissioner, we love to get around the league, different markets. Boston is one of those great sports towns. I know people would love to have it there. So they are focused on it, I know we’d love to get back there for an All-Star Game.”
Commissioner Adam Silver is absolutely correct; the first two All-Star Games played in the NBA occurred in Boston, and the city of champions that they are deserves to see another game played in the TD Garden. Now, since the Celtics’ upper management is planning on placing a bid, maybe we’ll see the All-Star Game return to Boston in a few years.
The fans in Boston are passionate when it comes to all their sports teams, including the Celtics. There is a reason why it’s called Celtics pride, and these fans will be proud to have their city host an All-Star Game once again.
