The City of New Orleans has officially been confirmed as the new host of the 2017 NBA All-Star festivities.
The league made the announcement on their Twitter account Friday with the following statement:
The NBA has issued the following statement regarding New Orleans as the host of NBA All-Star 2017: pic.twitter.com/cLOYRcyt9q
— NBA (@NBA) August 19, 2016
The NBA made the decision last month to pull the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, its original host city, due to the state of North Carolina’s controversial HB2 law, a measure that has been widely criticized as discriminatory against the LGBT community.
This is the third time that New Orleans had gotten the NBA All-Star Game in the last decade, having taken on hosting duties in both 2008 and 2014 as well. But with the state of Louisiana currently battling mass flooding, this news should provide a nice pick-me-up for the area.
The All-Star proceedings are set to take place during the first weekend of Mardi Gras as well, so it should be quite the festive atmosphere in The Big Easy come next February.
Image Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
H/T theScore
