NBA All-Star Weekend is coming back to Miami in 2028, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reported Monday that the league is finalizing the city as host for the first time since 1990. The Associated Press confirmed the pick through its own source and reported that the NBA is planning a Nov. 30 event to make it official, with commissioner Adam Silver and Heat owner Micky Arison expected to attend.
The NBA usually names its All-Star hosts about three years out, so the 2028 pick was running late. Now the answer is South Florida. The Miami Herald reported that Kaseya Center, the Heat’s home on Biscayne Boulevard, is expected to host both the All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night. The rest of the weekend would spread across the area, with tentative plans for events at the Watsco Center on the University of Miami campus and at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
The last time Miami hosted, the Heat were a second year expansion team and the game was played at the old Miami Arena. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas were on the floor, and Magic Johnson walked away with MVP.
So why did a city built for big weekends go 38 years without NBA All-Star Weekend? A boat show. The Miami International Boat Show has traditionally landed on Presidents’ Day weekend, the same February weekend the NBA uses for All-Star. The boat show takes over the Miami Beach Convention Center and a huge share of the area’s hotel rooms, which left no room for the league. The Herald’s Anthony Chiang reported that the boat show is moving off its usual dates in 2028, and that opened the door.
The Heat have wanted this for a long time. Eric Woolworth, the team’s president of business operations, has floated the idea for about a decade. Miami has never had trouble landing major events otherwise. The city is tied for the most Super Bowls ever hosted.
The pick also gives players back to back warm weather stops after a run of colder cities. Recent All-Star weekends went to Chicago, Cleveland, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis before Los Angeles hosted this past February at the Intuit Dome. Phoenix is up next, with the Suns hosting NBA All-Star Weekend Feb. 19 through 21, 2027, at Mortgage Matchup Center. Miami follows a year later.
Players will not need convincing. Plenty of them own homes in the city or have at some point, and the weather, the nightlife and the South Beach scene make NBA All-Star Weekend in Miami an easy sell for the fans, brands and celebrities who fly in for the parties as much as the game.
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