This years 2021 NBA All Star game was different then others, this years game was for honoring Kobe Bryant who passed away along with eight others, including his 13 year old daughter, in a helicopter crash last year.

Kobe Bryant and eight others passed away, from an helicopter crash, on January 26, 2020 in Calabasas, CA. The crash was around 9:45am when their helicopter flew into heavy fog and crashed into a side of a mountain at 145mph and all nine passengers were pronounced dead at the scene.

NBA fans all around the world were devastated to hear about the loss of Kobe Bryant and GiGi Bryant. The NBA decided to hold tributes all around the league and by dedicating the All Star game to Kobe.

For the fourth year now the NBA has allowed captains to pick their own teams instead of the West vs the East. This years captains were LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

For the past years the NBA All Star game has been like any regular game. But this year the format was different as it was made to honor Kobe. Each quarter was split into its own game and the winner of each quarter received $100,000 to give to charity. Then in the fourth quarter the scores of each team from the previous three quarters were combined and 24 points were added to the team with the highest combined score. The first team to reach that score would win. After the game ended the player who had the best performance on the winning team was awarded the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy, this years award went to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Kobe inspired millions of people all around the world and many fans are still mourning the lose of those on board. Kobe and his daughter won’t be forgotten, along with the other seven passengers.