The NBA has selected Phoenix as the host city for the 2027 All-Star Game, which will mark the fourth time the Valley of the Sun has hosted the annual weekend event and first time since 2009.
“It’s a big thing for the community,” Mat Ishbia, the Phoenix Suns owner, said in a phone interview. “We wanted to bring the NBA and WNBA All-Star Games to Phoenix, and we want to make this the epicenter of basketball in America.”
Last year, the WNBA awarded its 2024 All-Star Game to Phoenix.
“Our NBA All-Star festivities in 2027 will showcase Phoenix’s love of everything basketball,” Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, said in a statement.
The next two NBA All-Star Games are scheduled for the Chase Center in San Francisco (2025) and Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. (2026).
It has been a whirlwind 13 months for Ishbia since he bought the Suns and Mercury for an NBA-record $4 billion from Robert Sarver. Three days after his purchase was approved, he signed off on a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant. An October trade for Bradley Beal pushed the Suns all-in with a $191 million payroll for 2023-24, plus a potential $67 million luxury tax bill, per Spotrac.
“We’re trying to win an NBA championship,” Ishbia said. “That’s our goal, and it has been very clear from day one. I think we are in amazing shape to do exactly what we want to do.”
While the Suns’ roster transformed under Ishbia’s watch, the off-court business has also undergone dramatic change. In April, the Suns became the first NBA team to ties with the Diamond Sports family of regional sports networks. The team replaced Bally Sports Arizona with over-the-air Gray Television channels to air games during the 2023-24 season and added a streaming option through Kiswe.
Leave a Reply