Adam Silver Encourages Celtics To Bid To Host NBA All-Star Game

The last time the Boston Celtics hosted an NBA All-Star Game was in 1964, and commissioner Adam Silver appears open to ending the nearly six-decade long drought.

Before Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, Silver spoke to the media to discuss the most prescient issues in the league. The topic of host cities for NBA All-Star weekend came up.

Cleveland played host in 2022, and for the next two years, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis will play host.

Silver said he would “encourage” Boston to submit a bid to host the NBA All-Star game in 2025 or 2026, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Silver also said he had a “long list of NBA cities” interested in hosting NBA All-Star weekend, and Boston was a strong candidate, per ESPN’s Marc Spears.

In Feb. 2020, Celtics’ ownership group led by Wyc Grousbeck and Steven Pagliuca reportedly were preparing efforts to submit a bid for Boston to be a host city.

Boston played host to the first ever NBA All-Star Game in 1951, and the last time the city was a host was in 1964.