Utah welcomes the festivities with some warm hospitality

SALT LAKE CITY — Those who braved the freezing temperatures to trek to Utah for NBA All-Star Weekend have been rewarded with clear skies, beautiful views of the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains and a basketball-crazed city that has waited three decades for its turn to host.

In 1993, the last time the NBA’s midseason showcase convened in Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz were a steady powerhouse thanks to longtime owner Larry H. Miller, no-nonsense coach Jerry Sloan and the Hall of Fame duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone. These days, Utah CEO Danny Ainge is a well-known NBA lifer, but many of the franchise’s other key figures have arrived since Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith purchased the Jazz in 2020.

Last summer, Smith, a mid-40s tech billionaire who favors all-black outfits topped with a backward hat, hired rookie coach Will Hardy and executed a roster overhaul by sending out Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in trades while acquiring Lauri Markkanen, a firsttime all-star forward who has stepped into the void. As such, the weekend has felt like a grand introduction rather than simply a reunion of basketball royalty.

“This is really an important moment for our state to shine,” Smith said, hailing Salt Lake City’s standing as one of the country’s 10 fastest-growing markets and its booming “Silicon Slopes” high-tech industry. “It’s been 30 years. There’s probably 120,000 people coming into town, and we’re ready for it.”

The focus on hospitality seems intentional, given some of the negative impressions that have dogged Utah. In 2019, Russell Westbrook accused a Jazz fan of making “racial” comments toward him during a game, and Mitchell told the website Andscape that his offseason move to Cleveland was “comforting” after years of “draining” criticism from some fans over his comments about the racial climate in Utah, where more than 77 percent of residents are white.

Meanwhile, Utah’s state legislature passed a bill last year that banned transgender students from competing in girls sports, raising questions about whether the NBA would relocate this weekend’s festivities. Ultimately, commissioner Adam Silver, who had previously moved the 2017 All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte in response to a North Carolina bathroom bill, said that Salt Lake City would remain as host because the NBA didn’t “want to be in a position where we’re chased from state to state around the country.”

By the frenzied standards of All-Star Weekend, this year’s edition has gotten off to a sleepier start than usual, perhaps because of the frigid temperatures. A comedown was inevitable after the NBA pulled no punches with its 75th anniversary celebration in Cleveland last year, and a wave of injuries has dimmed the star power.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson have all been ruled out for Sunday’s showcase, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, DeMar DeRozan and Jaylen Brown are all nursing various maladies. Even the slam dunk contest endured a notable defection when highflying rookie Shaedon Sharpe withdrew, forcing the NBA to assemble an underwhelming field that included Mac McClung, who has spent the entire season in the G League.

Nevertheless, visitors can walk down John Stockton Drive next to the Vivint Arena, where statues of the NBA’s all-time assist leader and Malone, his top target, stand sentry. Inside, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced that the finalists for its 2023 class include Gregg Popovich, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker.

LeBron James will be honored Sunday for becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader earlier this month. The Los Angeles Lakers star and Antetokounmpo will also serve as all-star captains and pick their teams in a televised pregame draft. Courtside tickets for Sunday’s game were listed for nearly $10,000 a piece on a secondary site, and Smith estimated that the festivities could have a $250 million impact locally.

“What I want to show kids is that it’s 100 percent possible to do great things in Utah,” Smith said. “Utah is not going to get in the way.”