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Gallery: Melo Takes Part in East All-Star Practice

Jonah Ballow

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All-Star All-Access: Melo Hits The Media Circuit

Ben Couch

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Melo Gallery: M11 Pearl Pack

- NBA All-Stars Back In a New York Groove as New York Takes Center Court for a Fifth Time -

New York - Feb. 11, 2015 – NBA All-Star 2015 will bring together the league’s most talented players for a global celebration of basketball, transforming ‘The Big Apple’ into the center of the basketball universe.  Three days of live game action will be on display at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center, culminating with the 64th NBA All-Star Game at The Garden on Sunday, Feb. 15.   

 TNT will televise the All-Star Game for a 13th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports' 30th season of All-Star coverage.  Fans in 215 countries and territories and in 47 languages will be able to experience the NBA All-Star celebration through television and radio networks and digital technologies around the world, including TNT, ESPN and NBA Digital domestically.

·      5 - NYC has hosted five NBA All-Star Games (1954, 1955, 1968, 1998, 2015), tying Los Angeles for most ever  

·      1 Million - NBA will reach more than one million youth in NYC through its season long NBA Cares All-Star community outreach efforts

·      216 - NBA All-Star 2015 will feature 216 current NBA players and legends participating in events, including 41 members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

·      600,000 - NBA and MTA will distribute 600,000 special double-sided MetroCards with the motto for this year’s event: “New York Takes Center Court”

·      500 - More than 500 NYC basketball legends featured on the History of New York City Basketball interactive map, available via NBA.com, NBA All-Star NYC app and NBA Game Time app

·      11,100 - NBA and its partners will canvas NYC with more than 11,100 prominent creative installations, including giant billboards, building wraps, wrapped subway cars, and dynamic signage across the city’s busiest and most high-profile locations

·      1,800 - More than 1,800 media will cover NBA All-Star 2015, including a record 534 international media

·      19 - Nineteen television and radio networks will broadcast live during All-Star with on-site commentary in languages including Portuguese, Spanish, French, Japanese, Greek and Mandarin

·      39 - 39 of the top players born in 1997 from 23 countries around the world will travel to NBA All- Star 2015 for the inaugural Basketball without Borders (BWB) Global Camp

·      20 - NBA All-Star 2015 will mark TNT NBA play-by-play commentator Marv Albert’s 20th NBA All-Star Game, including the 1968 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden

·      1998 - Four TNT/NBA TV analysts – Grant Hill (15 pts), Reggie Miller (14), Shaquille O’Neal (12) and Steve Smith (14) – played in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, the last time NYC hosted

·      4 - Fans will be able to choose their own collection of the four greatest NBA players of all time with NBA.com’s new meme generator, NBA Mt. Rushmore

·      780M - More than 780 million followers and likes combined across all league, team, and player pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Sina, and Tencent will have access to All-Star content

·      2 - NBA All-Star 2015 will mark first time in NBA history two brothers have been selected as starters; Chicago’s Pau Gasol will start for the East and Memphis’ Marc Gasol will start for the West. The Gasol brothers are also the first two Europeans voted All-Star Game starters by fans

·      17/15 - Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (2nd all time) and Spurs’ Tim Duncan (tied for 3 rd all time) have been selected to their 17th and 15th All-Star Games, respectively

·      1 - Golden State’s Steve Kerr will be the first coach to lead an All-Star team in his first NBA season since Indiana’s Larry Bird guided the Eastern Conference in 1998

nba-all-star-2015-by-the-numbers

NBA All-Star 2015 By the Numbers

– NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo, Hall of Famers George Gervin and Robert Parish,  NBA Cares Ambassador Ruth Riley, San Antonio Stars Center Jayne Appel to Serve as Honorary Coaches –

– New York Rolling Knicks Five-Time All-Star Kevin Grant to Play in Front of Hometown Crowd –

NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2015– Returning to New York City for the first time since the event’s inception, the 19 best basketball players from the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) will participate in the 17th annual NBA/NWBA All-Star Wheelchair Classic at NBA All-Star 2015.  The East and West Wheelchair All-Stars will face off at the Steinberg Wellness Center at LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 12:30 p.m. ET.  NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo, Hall of Famers George Gervin and Robert Parish, NBA Cares Ambassador Ruth Riley and San Antonio Stars Center Jayne Appel will serve as honorary coaches.

A tradition that began at NBA All-Star 1998 in Manhattan, the 2015 NBA/NWBA All-Star Wheelchair Classic will feature the top athletes from NBA-affiliated NWBA teams.  The players, selected by the NWBA, are divided into two teams with the East All-Stars coached by Gerry Fleming and the West All-Stars coached by Paul Jackson.

"We are very proud of our 17-year affiliation with the NBA, beginning with Commissioner Stern and continuing with Commissioner Silver,” said NWBA Executive Director Randy Schubert.  ���We are grateful that our players from around North America have this opportunity to go out on the court and demonstrate their skills and ability in the sport of basketball.  We believe both the NBA players as well as the fans in the stands will truly appreciate the power of sports through wheelchair basketball.” 

Danny Fik – Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks

Chuck Gill – Golden State Road Warriors

Marcus Oden – Golden State Road Warriors

Master Hinkle – Courage Center Rolling Timberwolves

Mark Braun – Courage Center Rolling Timberwolves

Jermell Pennie – Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks

Andrew Reilly – Phoenix Banner Wheelchair Suns

Tyrone Griner – Phoenix Banner Wheelchair Suns

Head Coach Paul Jackson – Golden State Road Warriors

Curtis Lease – Chicago Wheelchair Bulls

Darron Lewis – Cleveland Wheelchair Cavaliers

Head Coach Gerry Fleming – New York Rolling Knicks

Asst. Coach Eddie Lopez – New York Rolling Knicks

The National Wheelchair Basketball Association is comprised of more than 200 basketball teams within 22 conferences across the country.  The NWBA was founded in 1948, and today consists of men's, women's, intercollegiate and youth teams throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on the NWBA, please go to www.nwba.org. 

About NBA CaresNBA Cares is the league's global social responsibility program that builds on the NBA's mission of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world.  Through this program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $242 million to charity, completed more than 3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 915 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play, in 26 countries and territories on five continents.  NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: KaBOOM!, Special Olympics, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Share Our Strength and GLAAD.

About NWBAFounded in 1948 by American WWII veterans, the National Wheelchair Basketball Association is recognized by the USOC as the official governing body for wheelchair basketball in the United States. The NWBA provides qualified individuals with physical disabilities the opportunity to play, learn and compete in the sport of wheelchair basketball. It is the oldest and largest single sport DSO (Disabled Sports Organization) and is the only Paralympic sport organization that has teams at the college level where the schools offer scholarships to NWBA athletes to play wheelchair basketball and earn a degree. The NWBA is comprised of over 2700 members that make up the men’s, women’s, intercollegiate and youth teams which span across twenty-two conferences and seven divisions. The NWBA is a nonprofit (501c), charitable organization recognized by USA Paralympics, the US Olympic Committee and the USA member of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF).

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Rolling Knicks All-Star Grant to Play in Wheelchair Classic

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2015 – As the world turns its eyes to New York City and NBA All-Star 2015, taking place throughout all five boroughs from Feb. 13-15, the NBA will celebrate the rich history of New York City basketball by unveiling the first-ever History of New York City Basketball map, available via the NBA All-Star NYC app and on NBA.com and the NBA Game Time app, beginning today.

The map is available for download at: http://is.nba.com/ASTAR_2015/NYC_BB_Map_2615.jpg

As part of this celebration, the NBA will distribute 5,000 copies of the map to community-based organizations and schools across the five boroughs.

Filled with information on more than 500 New York City legends, this interactive basketball experience, which includes highlights of more than 150 icons and more than 140 unique photos, pays tribute to the players, coaches and teams who not only wrote the history of the game in the city, but also contributed to its growth worldwide.  Spotlighting more than 100 city landmarks and schools located throughout the five boroughs, the map recognizes the Big Apple’s contribution to the high school, collegiate and professional game. 

A History of New York City Basketball celebrates the rich tradition of the New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets and pro legends such as Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe who thrived in the city.  The map also tells the stories of native New Yorkers who went on to basketball stardom around the globe, such as Bob Cousy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Connie Hawkins, Chris Mullin and Kenny Smith.  From the Harlem Rens to the Harlem Globetrotters and from Red Auerbach to Red Holzman, the map is an expansive history of this cradle of basketball excellence that has stretched more than a century.

 While Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center are focal points, the map also locates destinations like the 69th Regiment Armory, the onetime home of the New York Knicks; the site of the former Power Memorial Academy at 61st Street and Columbus Avenue, alma mater of NBA Legends such as Len Elmore and Abdul-Jabbar; and Rucker Park, a playground basketball mecca that has hosted NBA legends such as Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Nate “Tiny” Archibald, and Kevin Durant.

A History of Basketball in New York City: By-The-Numbers

·         More than 500 New York City Legends

·         More than 150 Player Videos

·         More than 140 Archived Photos

·         More than 100 New York City Landmarks and Schools

·         More than 60 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers and Honorees

·         More than 100 Years of New York City Basketball History

About NBA All-Star 2015NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game.  The 64th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place Sunday, Feb. 15 at Madison Square Garden, will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages.  TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 13th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports' 30th year of All-Star coverage, as well as the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 13 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 14, which will both take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  Other events at Barclays Center include the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA Development League Dream Factory presented by Boost Mobile on Sunday, Feb. 15, airing on NBA TV.  Madison Square Garden will host Friday night’s ESPN-televised Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

nba-celebrates-nyc-hoops-with-map

NBA Celebrates NYC Hoops with Map

Charlie Widdoes

--The Opening Number Of New York Spring Spectacular, Presented By Chase, Will Be Performed To The Orchestrated Music of Taylor Swift’s “Welcome To New York,” And Choreographed by Emmy-Award Winning Choreographer Mia Michaels Of So You Think You Can Dance--

--Separately, To Open The All-Star Game, The Rockettes Will Perform Alongside Grammy Award-Winning International Recording Artist Christina Aguilera To A New York-Themed Medley--

New York, NY (February 5, 2015) – MSG Entertainment (MSGE) announced today that the legendary Rockettes will debut the show-stopping opening number from their all-new live theatrical production, New York Spring Spectacular, at the 64th NBA All-Star Game.  The opening number of New York Spring Spectacular, presented by Chase, is choreographed by Mia Michaels to the orchestrated music of Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York.” The Rockettes performance at the NBA All-Star Game will be part of the “Entertainment Series presented by JBL” on Sunday, February 15 at Madison Square Garden.  The game will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. New York Spring Spectacular will debut in March 2015 at Radio City Music Hall and is jointly produced by Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Weinstein Live Entertainment. The limited seven week engagement begins previews on March 12, 2015 and runs through May 3, 2015. Tickets on sale now at www.rockettes.com/spring.

Prior to their performance of “Welcome to New York,” the Rockettes will perform alongside Grammy Award-winning international recording artist Christina Aguilera.  The Rockettes will join Aguilera for a spectacular open to the night with a New York-themed medley prior to introducing the 2015 NBA All-Stars.

“’Welcome to New York’ is the perfect anthem for the Rockettes to welcome guests to the NBA All-Star Game here in New York City and will be an unparalleled introduction to New York Spring Spectacular,” says Mia Michaels, choreographer of New York Spring Spectacular’s opening number. “This number is a true celebration of New York City and features the phenomenally talented and inspiring Rockettes. The music, performed by the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, sets the tone of this amazing story and accompanies the dynamic opening dance sequence beautifully.”

Mia Michaels, the choreographer of the opening number, is well-known for her work on the Fox Television Show, So You Think You Can Dance, and has collaborated with artists such as Prince, Madonna and Celine Dion. Variety Magazine named Michaels as “One of the Most Innovative Women” of 2013 and she has received multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography. Michaels will also be lending her talents to Finding Neverland, which opens on Broadway in 2015.

New York Spring Spectacular takes audiences on a whirlwind adventure across New York City while telling an inspiring and hopeful narrative about New Yorkers who change each other’s lives in unexpectedly wonderful ways. The all-star collaborators and cast in New York Spring Spectacular include Tony Award winning actress Laura Benanti starring as the female lead, Jenna; Emmy Award winning choreographer Derek Hough as the male lead, Jack; Lenny Wolpe in the role of Bernie; and Jared Grimes in the role of Marshall.  Additionally, some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment will be lending their talents and voices to the production including Whoopi Goldberg as the voice of the Statue of Liberty puppet and Bella Thorne as the voice of the Alice in Wonderland statue, along with celebrity video cameos by Carmelo Anthony, Henrik Lundqvist, Donald Trump and more!

The New York Spring Spectacular is led by Director and Choreographer Warren Carlyle, a Tony and Drama Desk Award winning director and choreographer, including for such popular Broadway productions as The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Christmas Story: The Musical and After Midnight, which he also directed and for which he won both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Choreographer. Working by his side are Co-Creative Directors Diane Paulus and Randy Weiner. Paulus is a Tony Award winning director for the A.R.T.’s  Pippin and was among 2014’s TIME 100, TIME Magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Weiner is the creator of the Off-Broadway extravaganza Queen of the Night at the Paramount Hotel and is a frequent collaborator with Paulus, most recently working together to create Amaluna for Cirque Du Soleil. Weiner is also the producer of the Drama Desk Award winning New York premiere of Punchdrunk's Sleep No More. Writer Joshua Harmon made his professional New York playwriting debut with the critically acclaimed play Bad Jews, which was produced by Roundabout Underground and was the first play to transfer to the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre in October 2013. It received Outer Critics Circle and Lortel nominations for Best Play. Harmon earned degrees in playwriting from Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon and studied at Julliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights program.

Check out exclusive New York Spring Spectacular behind-the-scenes photos, videos and interviews at www.rockettes.com/spring, and follow Rockettes and New York Spring Spectacular on Facebook, @Rockettes on Twitter and @TheRockettes on Instagram for all the latest updates on the show.

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Rockettes to Debut Number at 2015 NBA ASG

– Carmelo Anthony and Spike Lee to Coach Alongside ESPN Radio’sMike Golic and Mike Greenberg –

– Pop-Reggae Band MAGIC! to Perform During Halftime at Madison Square Garden –

NEW YORK,Feb. 5, 2015 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that three-time MVP and comedic superstar Kevin Hart will take the court at Madison Square Garden, The World’s Most Famous Arena, for the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2015 on Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. ET airing live on ESPN.  Hart will be joined by film star Ansel Elgort;  Anthony Anderson (ABC’s “blackish”); Common (“Selma”); Little League phenom Mo’ne Davis; Arcade Fire’s Win Butler; actor Chadwick Boseman (“42”); “America’s Got Talent” host Nick Cannon; former NBA All-Star and New York Knicks Assistant General Manager Allan Houston; Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin; gold medal-winning U.S. Paralympic athlete Blake Leeper; actor Michael Rapaport; Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera; NBA TV’s “NBA Inside Stuff presented by Samsung Galaxy” co-host Kristen Ledlow; Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan; and WNBA stars Shoni Schimmel of the Atlanta Dream, Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock and Tina Charles of the New York Liberty.  This marks the first time that the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will be held in an NBA arena.

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and the team’s No. 1 fan, Spike Lee, will coach this year’s game alongside ESPN Radio’s “Mike &amp; Mike” hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg.  NBA Cares Ambassador Isaiah Austin, founder of The Isaiah Austin Foundation which provides support for the awareness and research of Marfan syndrome, will make his All-Star debut as assistant coach.

Following her Broadway debut as Rodgers + Hammerstein's “Cinderella,” singer and actress Keke Palmer will take center court to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  Canadian reggae fusion band MAGIC! will perform their multiplatinum-selling hit “Rude” during halftime.

For the 11th consecutive year, ESPN will televise the game beginning at 7 p.m. ET.  Fans can also view the game on WatchESPN, available on your computer, smart phone, tablet, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Apple TV and Roku.  The game rosters are subject to change without notice.  Visit NBA.com/allstar2015 for more information.

MAGIC! (RCA)Toronto-born and Los Angeles-based quartet MAGIC! consists of Nasri (lead singer), Mark Pelli (guitar), Ben Spivak (bass) and Alex Tanas (drums).  Their debut album, “Don’t Kill The Magic,” debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 2 on the Digital Album Chart.  The album produced the double-platinum-selling single, “Rude,” which was No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, nominated for Single of The Year at the American Music Awards, was the most Shazamed song of the summer in the U.S., ranked No. 7 on Spotify’s Global Songs for 2014, named the 10th best-selling track on iTunes for 2014 and has sold over 5 million singles worldwide.  The music video for “Rude” has over 370 million views.  MAGIC! is set to hit the road with Maroon 5 this year in support of “Don’t Kill The Magic.”  Their follow up single, “Let Your Hair Down,” is currently rising up the charts and the music video has over 10 million views.

Keke Palmer (Atlantic, Interscope)At the age of 21, Keke Palmer has already established herself as one of the fastest rising young stars of her generation.  Her talents span film, television, and music alike.  Keke recently signed to play a major role in Ryan Murphy’s new comedy-horror anthology series “Scream Queens.”  Straight off her history-making stint on Broadway as the first black and youngest actress to play the iconic fairytale character Cinderella in the Rogers &amp; Hammerstein award winning production, “Cinderella,” Keke is never one to rest on her laurels.  After she shoots “Scream Queens,” Keke will go into production on her history-making talk show “Just Keke,” which is being retooled and reshot to go into syndication in 2016 by way of Telepictures/Warner Bros.  Keke will also be releasing new music in 2015.  She can next be seen in lead roles in the indie films “Brotherly Love” produced by Queen Latifah (April 2015) and “Imperial Dreams” opposite John Boyega and directed by Malik Vitthal.

About SprintSprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served nearly 56 million connections as of December 31, 2014 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past four years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.