Record number of international media descend on New York for NBA All-Star 2015

NEW YORK – A record 534 international media members from 52 countries will descend on the media capital of the world to attend NBA All-Star 2015.  This more than doubles last year’s total of 265 in New Orleans and breaks the previous record of 461 set in Los Angeles in 2011.

Fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages will have unprecedented live access to all NBA All-Star 2015 on their TV, computers, mobile phones and tablets.  This includes the All-Star Game, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, as well as behind-the-scenes coverage and interviews.

All-Star will feature a record 16 international players. Spain’s Pau and Marc Gasol are the first two Europeans ever selected by fans to start in an All-Star Game and the first brothers to start against each other.

Journalists from 178 international television and radio outlets and websites will be at All-Star, with 19 partners doing live commentary in languages such as Arabic, Danish, French, Greek, Japanese, Mandarin, Polish, and Tagalog.

Fans globally can access All-Star through NBA LEAGUE PASS and the NBA Game Time application.  NBA TV International will take fans in 99 countries behind-the-scenes at various events throughout the week.

The full list of international players include: Jusuf Nurkic (Denver Nuggets; Bosnia & Herzegovina), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece), Bojan Bogdanovic (Brooklyn Nets; Croatia), Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves; Senegal), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs; U.S. Virgin Islands), M. Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies; Spain), P. Gasol (Chicago Bulls; Spain), Dante Exum (Utah Jazz; Australia), Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz; France), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks; Dominican Republic), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers; Australia), Nikola Mirotic (Chicago Bulls; Montenegro), Kelly Olynyk (Boston Celtics; Canada), Dennis Schroder (Atlanta Hawks; Germany), Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota Timberwolves, Canada), and Marco Belinelli (San Antonio Spurs, Italy).

NBA global media partners will also cover the first-ever Basketball without Borders Global Camp being held during All-Star from Feb. 13-15.  BWB Global will bring the top 39 players from 23 countries to New York City to be coached by NBA players, as part of the NBA’s and FIBA’s global basketball development program conducted since 2001.

In addition, the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, February 13 will have a new USA vs. World Format featuring 10 players each from the U.S. and international ranks.

Below are highlights in key markets:

  • China: CCTV5 will produce a customized feed of All-Star featuring graphics in Mandarin and Chinese New Year themed content. Tencent and Sina will stream the game live and engage the NBA’s 93 million followers on social media in China.
  • India: Sony SIX will provide comprehensive coverage for viewers in India including their first live studio show around All-Star. Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan will be the first Indian to participate in the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity game and Sony SIX will air the game live.
  • Japan: WOWOW will be onsite and create a 30-minute documentary of Japanese musician Yujin Kitagawa from the band YUZU and his experience at All-Star. 
  • United Kingdom: BT Sport will broadcast all All-Star events live.
  • Africa: SuperSport will have a crew onsite and broadcast All-Star live throughout Africa. Supersport, which operates NBA.com/Africa, will also have comprehensive online coverage.
  • Spain: Canal+, partner since 1996, will be onsite providing live coverage for fans in Spain, producing special features on the Gasol brothers.
  • Middle East and North Africa: beIN Sports will be onsite providing live commentary for all events in Arabic for fans throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Brazil: Space will be onsite gathering footage and conducting interviews to give fans an all-access look into All-Star to enhance their coverage of the live events. Brazilian talk show host Antonio Tabet will serve as the network’s live commentator during All-Star.  NBA All-Star will also be available on ESPN.