The 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers will have three All-Star players in this year’s game. Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Donovan Mitchell will step on the court and they will make Cavaliers fans proud. Here is a fun fact, their coach Kenny Atkinson has previously had multiple All-Stars in the same year, when he was an assistant for the 2015 Atlanta Hawks. Out of the three, only Mitchell was selected as a starter. Only one team in the history of the league has had three All-Star starters. Can you name it?
All-Star Game Trivia – Name the Team With Three Starters
We have to note that the rules stated that each team should have at least one All-Star and a maximum of three until 1973. At the time, the league had 17 teams.
In the 1970-71 season, three new teams made their debut, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Buffalo Braves(eventually becoming the Los Angeles Clippers). Before that, there were only 14 teams, and it was easy to have one All-Star per team. After 1973, there was no more guaranteed All-Star player per team. Fans couldn’t vote until 1975, only the press would cast their votes for All-Star players.
Nevertheless, the team that had three All-Star starters, all chosen by the fans, was the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers. Younger fans might not know the team, but it was one of the best teams in the history of the league.
How Good were the 83 Sixers?
The Sixers made the Finals in 1982 but lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. That 1982 team had Julius Erving, who was 31 years old at the time, as its main guy. They also had Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones, and Lionel Hollins.
After losing to the Lakers, the Sixers traded for Moses Malone, who was already a two-time MVP player. Malone, Erving, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks, and Bobby Jones formed one of the deadliest teams in history up to that point.
They won 65 games in the regular season, and before the playoffs started, Malone gave his famous, “fo, fo, fo,” predicting they would not lose a game en route to the Championship.
The Sixers steamrolled the Knicks in the Conference Semifinals, beat the Bucks 4-1 in the Conference Finals, and then routed the Lakers 4-0 in the Finals. That year, they had four All-Star players, three of whom were selected as starters. Erving, Malone, and Cheeks were starters for the East, while Andrew Toney was a reserve.
Iconic Teams with at Least Three All-Stars Players
The Sixers are the only team with three All-Star starters, but they are not the only team with multiple All-Stars. This year, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have three players making the team. Here is another fun trivia question. Three teams have had four All-Star reserves and not a single starter.
Those are:
– 2006 Detroit Pistons with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace.
– 2011 Boston Celtics with Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.
– 2015 Atlanta Hawks with Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, and Kyle Korver (he was an injury replacement).
The Golden State Warriors, on the other hand, are the only team with the same four All-Star players in consecutive years. In 2017 and 2018, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson all made the team.
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