The 2006 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 19, 2006, at the Toyota Center in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, home of the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. The game was the 55th annual All-Star game. The theme song was by Houston native Chamillionaire who made a new version of his hit " Turn It Up." Trailing by 21 points, the East rode the hot shooting of LeBron James and the teamwork of the four All-Stars from the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

to a 122–120 victory over the West. The 21-year-old James, who scored 29 points and grabbed six rebounds, became the youngest player to win MVP. With the score tied, Dwyane Wade, who finished with 20 points, hit the game-winning layup with 16 seconds left. Tracy McGrady of the

led all players with a game-high 36 points.

Players

Jermaine O'Neal was unable to participate due to injury.
Gilbert Arenas was named as O'Neal's replacement. Vince Carter was named as starter, replacing O'Neal.

Coaches

The Eastern Conference team was coached by Flip Saunders of the

, along with Sidney Lowe, Ron Harper and Don Zierden as assistant coaches. Ted Arzonico of the Orlando Magic was the athletic trainer. The Western Conference team was coached by Avery Johnson of the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. Del Harris, Rolando Blackman and Joe Prunty served as assistant coaches, while Keith Jones of the

was the athletic trainer.

Rookie Challenge

The T-Mobile Rookie challenge was played on Friday, February 17, 2006, with the Sophomores beating the Rookies 106–96. Andre Iguodala was named MVP with a game-high 30 points. * Did not participate due to injury. Delonte West replaced Jameer Nelson (sprained right foot).

Coaches

The Rooks were coached by Sidney Lowe of the

, along with Elvin Hayes as the assistant coach. The Sophomores were coached by Del Harris of the

, along with Moses Malone as the assistant coach.

Three-Point Shootout

Dirk Nowitzki won with a score of 18, beating Gilbert Arenas and Ray Allen in the final round. * Did not participate due to a family illness. Gilbert Arenas replaced Raja Bell.

Slam Dunk Contest

Nate Robinson won, beating Andre Iguodala in a dunk-off after the first ever tie in a Slam Dunk Contest. Robinson's win was highly questioned as he had missed several dunks and many speculate that Robinson was only awarded the title because of his small stature.

Skills Challenge

Dwyane Wade won, beating LeBron James in the final round. Dwyane Wade won with a time of 26.1 seconds.

Shooting Stars Competition

The San Antonio team won the competition with a time of 25.1 seconds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 Nba All-Star Game NBA All-Star Game Basketball competitions in Houston All-Star NBA All-Star Game NBA All-Star Game NBA All-Star Game