New Orleans to replace Charlotte for 2017 NBA All-Star Game

Multiple media outlets reported Thursday afternoon that the NBA announced plans to host the NBA All-Star game outside its previous venue in Charlotte, North Carolina.

ESPN reports its sources are telling it the National Basketball Association has taken the step of reaching out to multiple alternative host cities as it considers its options for the 2017 All-Star Game next February in Charlotte.

The law resulted in a scheduled game between Duke and Albany being canceled due to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ban on any state-sponsored, non-essential travel to North Carolina.

The NBA is expected to move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte since the state will not reverse its decision on the controversial bathroom law, according to The Vertical.

Multiple media outlets are reporting, and WBTV has a local source who has confirmed, the All-Star Game has been pulled out of Charlotte. HB2 mandates transgender individuals use the public restroom corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate, not the gender they identify with. He also reported that Smoothie King Center in New Orleans has emerged as the front runner to host the event.

The Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green were the two biggest snubs from the starting lineup for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.

Silver, citing the league’s core principles of diversity and inclusion, had said moving the All-Star Game was a possibility when meeting with the media ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had previously threatened such a move unless the law, known as House Bill 2, was amended.

NBA All-Star weekend is scheduled for February 17-19, 2017.