History
The idea of holding an All-Star Game was conceived during a meeting between NBA President Maurice Podoloff, NBA publicity director Haskell Cohen and Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown. At that time, the basketball world had just been stunned by the college basketball point-shaving scandal.
In order to regain public attention to the league, Cohen suggested the league to host an exhibition game featuring the league's best players, similar to the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Although most people, including Podoloff, were pessimistic about the idea, Brown remained confident that it would be a success, and he even offered to host the game and to cover all the expenses or potential losses incurred from the game. In the first All-Star Game, the Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team 111–94.
Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley was named as the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, and the All-Star Game became a success, drawing an attendance of 10,094, much higher than that season's average attendance of 3,500.
Read more about this topic: National Basketball Association All-Star Game
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