Then versus now: The Bay Area's last NBA All-Star Game
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Overhead shot of the opening jump ball during the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, which was played at The Arena in Oakland on Feb. 13, 2000. Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
On Sunday, some of the NBA's most beloved elite players will take the court at Chase Center to compete in the All-Star Game's new tournament-style showdown.
Why it matters: It will be the first time the All-Star Game has been played in the Bay since 2000.
- The Golden State Warriors' very own Stephen Curry will be representing the city after making franchise history with his 11th selection.
Flashback: The 2000 game was played at The Arena in Oakland, the Warriors' home at the time.
- Over 18,300 people attended the game, which saw co-MVPs Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) and Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers) lead the Western Conference to a 137-126 victory.
- The NBA set up white tents across 300,000 square feet in The Arena's parking lot to house its All-Star Jam Session, which included events ranging from the 2ball competition with NBA and WNBA stars to the dunk contest.
The intrigue: Preceding the game was the Team-Up Celebration at the Cow Palace. Performances included Lakers star Kobe Bryant's rap single, "K.O.B.E.," with Tyra Banks, Third Eye Blind and LL Cool J.
- As part of the festivities, the Warriors also partnered with Chevron Corp. to sponsor $75,000 worth of renovations to Rainbow Park in East Oakland.
Zoom in: The Bay Area was in the midst of rapid development during that All-Star Game. In 2000, the introduction of the internet was driving a dot-com boom throughout the region.
- The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency was getting ready to take over Muni management, and the BART system would not be connected to the San Francisco International Airport for another three years.
- Former Vice President Kamala Harris hadn't yet kicked off her first campaign for public office, nor had Apple debuted the iPod.
- Curry would've been around 12 years old. Instead it was his dad, Dell, who was shooting the lights out from behind the 3-point arc.
By the numbers:
Then: San Francisco was home to over 776,000 residents and the median household income was about $57,000, census data shows.
Now: Our population is now at almost 874,000 and median household income near $127,000.
Then: The median home price in San Francisco was roughly $500,000, while average monthly rent was around $2,200.
Now: Median home price is now $1.2 million and average monthly rent $3,195.
Then: A gallon of gas in the San Francisco metro area cost $1.55 on average.
Now: It was $4.50 in January.
The bottom line: A lot has changed since 2000.
- We'll see how the NBA All-Star Game leaves its imprint on the Bay Area this time.