NBA All-Star Weekend H–O–R–S–E Competition


The NBA All-Star H–O–R–S–E Competition was a National Basketball Association contest which began at the 2009 NBA All–Star Weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, and only lasted for two years. It was canceled from the All-Star festivities prior to the 2011 weekend. The contest had been held on the Saturday night prior to the All-Star Game.

History

The NBA had held H–O–R–S–E competitions during the. Throughout that season, CBS broadcast NBA games during the regular season and the playoffs. The host was Don Criqui and the NBA official was retired referee Mendy Rudolph. There were a total of 32 players and the finals had a match up of Pete Maravich verse Paul Westphal. Maravich was injured and replaced by Rick Barry who lost to Westphal. During halftime of those games, they showed a pre-taped H–O–R–S–E tournament pitting players from the NBA against each other. It featured, among others, Pete Maravich, Bob McAdoo, Kevin Grevey, and George Gervin. There was also a Battle of the Sexes match where Karen Logan, a female, beat Jerry West in 1975 and was matched against Oscar Robertson where she took a 7-0 lead. Her claim was that they changed the rules and she lost 10-8.

Rules

The modern-day All-Star Competition was similar to that of regular H–O–R–S–E, where each participant took shots from unconventional locations and in unconventional ways to diminish their opponents' chances of duplicating the shot. Certain rule adjustments were made, however, that differed from conventional H–O–R–S–E competition:
The game took place on a × court, which is exactly one-half the size of a regulation length basketball court.

Winners

SeasonPlayerTeamFinished with
Phoenix Suns
Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder

All-time participants

SeasonPlayers
1977-78Paul Westphal, Pete Maravich, Kevin Grevey, Maurice Lucas
2008-09Kevin Durant, Joe Johnson, O. J. Mayo
2009-10Omri Casspi, Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo