Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks Co-Hosting 2015 All-Star Weekend An Excellent Idea

The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks Will Co-Host the 2015 All Star Festivities

In 2015, the NBA All-Star Game will get a taste of something that it hasn’t come anywhere near since 1998 – New York City.

Thank goodness.

The league announced at a press conference in Manhattan on Thursday that the celebration of the game’s greatest players will return to the nation’s largest city after an absence that will have spanned over a decade and a half.

But they announced this exciting news with an added, even more exciting twist to it.

After finally making their way over to the ultra-new Barclays Center from New Jersey last season, the Brooklyn Nets officially became the New York Knicks’ next door neighbor.

So instead of All Star weekend in New York automatically meaning it will be staged at Madison Square Garden with the Knicks as the hosts, the way it had been five previous times, Commissioner David Stern had an even better idea.

Two for the price of one.

Well, not exactly, but pretty darn close. Representatives from both the Knicks and Nets were on hand at the press conference, as it was declared that while the game will indeed be held at The World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, the Friday and Saturday night festivities will take place in Brooklyn, about halfway through season three of the Nets’ new digs.

Most Knicks fans hate the idea as much as they hate the Nets. They’ve always been New York’s top dog, given that they were always New York’s only dog other than during the Nets’ short ABA stint in Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum.

But their bias blinds them from understanding how this is an excellent decision for the NBA.

And here are five reasons why that is.

Mike B. Ruiz is a Brooklyn Nets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikebruiz and “Like” him on Facebook.

Promotes The Rivalry

The Knicks and Nets have a new budding rivalry, and doing this is just another way to promote it.

Something Different

Things like this don't happen every day, so it should be embraced with open arms.

Promotes Barclays Center And Nets

The Barclays Center is obviously brand new, but so is the Nets' recent success. This is a great way to talk about both.

Shows There Is More To NYC Than Just Manhattan

People who aren't from New York always think of all the bright lights Manhattan has to offer when they hear "New York City." This is a chance to show remind them that Brooklyn is also big and important to the city.

Lets Everyone Experience Both Venues

Fans both in attendance and at home, as well as players, will have a chance to experience both the Garden and the Barclays Center in a matter of only a couple of days.