The LKL All-Star Game is the
All-Star Game of the professional
Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). The game is held once every year. The participants of the game are chosen in two ways: the first is via fan ballot, with the leading vote recipients at each position starting the game; secondly the reserves are chosen by a vote among the
head coaches of each squad. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. If a player is injured, and cannot participate, the league's commissioner will select a replacement.
Features
The All-Star Game is played under normal
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
rules, but there are notable differences from an average game.
The player introductions are usually accompanied by a significant amount of
fanfare, including lighting effects, dance music, and
pyrotechnics. Special
uniform
A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...
s are designed for the game each year, usually green for the Lithuanians, and white for the Time Team (non Lithuanians). A major recording artist typically sings the national anthem, prior to tip-off.
Game play usually involves players attempting spectacular
slam dunk
A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...
s and
alley oops. Defensive effort is limited, and the final score of the game is generally much higher than an average
LKL game. The coaches also try to give most of the reserve players some playing time on the court, instead of using a limited rotation, as they would in a normal game. The fourth quarter of the game is often played in a more competitive fashion, if the game is close.
Halftime is also longer than a typical LKL game, due to musical performances, by various artists.
Every few years, LKL alternates matches from Lietuviai and Time Team (Lietuviai being the All-Star Lithuanian team, and Time Team being the All-Star foreigner team) to Vilkai and Ereliai (two teams of mixed foreign and Lithuanian players).
Results
Other events
The All-Star Game is the featured event of the
All-Star Day, which also includes a number of popular exhibition games, and competitions featuring LKL players. Such as the
LKL Three-point Shootout and the
LKL Slam Dunk Contest.
See also
*
LKL All-Star Day
*
LKL Three-point Shootout
*
LKL Slam Dunk Contest
*
LKL All-Star Game MVP
References
{{LKL
Basketball all-star games