A weekend that featured a low-budget player's luncheon, a one-on-one contest, and a presidential halftime address, Sam Smith paints a picture of the 1973 NBA All-Star game in Chicago Stadium with help from the people who were there.
On January, 23, 1973, a mild mid-30s winter Tuesday night in Chicago, the NBA offered a gift to Chicago basketball fans, the 23rd NBA All-Star game. There was a good crowd of 17,527. It wasn't a classic in a 104-84 Eastern Conference victory. Which worried Chicago because even as the Bulls were becoming an elite contender averaging more than 50 wins per season from 1971 through 1975, basketball hadn't yet built a firm foundation in Chicago.