As the NBA Playoffs begin four months after they were originally scheduled to tip-off, another major basketball event appears to be on the move. According to a report from Anthony Calhoun of WISH-TV in Indianapolis, the NBA has cancelled its hotel contracts for the 2021 All-Star weekend, signaling the league doesn’t anticipate the event taking place as scheduled, and maybe not at all.
The Indiana Pacers later released the following statement, “Given the uncertainty surrounding the schedule for the 2020-21 NBA season, the NBA informed its hotel partners in Indianapolis that NBA All-Star 2021 is unlikely to take place on Presidents’ Day weekend so that they could make other arrangements. More information about next season’s schedule, including NBA All-Star, will be announced at a later date.”
The 2021 NBA All-Star Game was scheduled to take place in Indianapolis Sunday Feb. 14, during Presidents’ Day weekend. The weekend is televised nationally by TNT, featuring three consecutive nights of All-Star events. Moving All-Star Weekend shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, considering the NBA already announced a delayed start to the 2020-21 season, which is currently slated to begin Dec. 1.
Already cancelling hotels for the event signals the unlikelihood of life and sports returning to normal by February, a full-year after the pandemic reached the United States and eleven months after it triggered a nationwide shutdown.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
