The history of the NBA All-Star Game dates back to 1951 when Easy Ed Macauley of the Celtics led the East over the West 111-94 in Boston. Since then, the MVP trophy from the annual gathering of greats has included names like Cousy, Pettit, Russell, Chamberlain, Robertson, Baylor, West, Erving, Bird, Johnson, Jordan and James.
Back in the day when teams pinched pennies and salaries were marginal, players received small gifts from the league for participating. The winner of the MVP award received a giant trophy while participants received a rings. It’s hard to believe today but sometimes the league had hustle to sell tickets.
SCP Auctions’ President David Kohler owns a remarkable collection of pro hoops memorabilia and he shared some favorite NBA All-Star Game pieces with us. Check out the gallery below.
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