“$130 court-side seats to see Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant!”: When the 2011 NBA lockout forced a constellation of NBA stars to assemble in the Philippines 

Jeet Pukhrambam | 22/05/2022
"$130 court-side seats to see Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant!": When the 2011 NBA lockout forced a constellation of NBA stars to assemble in the Philippines 

Catching Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant court-side for $130 sounds unimaginable. During the 2011 NBA lockout, this was a reality.

Paying a meager 130$ to catch NBA superstars and future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant among others sounds unfathomable. To watch them courtside for that amount of money is not even possible. Right?

Well, if you found yourself in Manila in 2011, you could have. Yes, this array of superstars gathered to play games in the Philippines.

The 2011 NBA season was a short one and it was due to the infamous lockout. Players were denied access to team facilities and they had to resort to other means to stay fit.

Also read: “In terms of dominance LeBron James, championship wise Kobe Bryant”: When Michael Jordan explained why he would take the Black Mamba over the Lakers star

The next big sporting event after the Thrilla in Manila, The two exhibition games that featured NBA All-stars and legends were the stuff of dreams.

Basketball fans in the country rejoiced as they got an opportunity to see these stars battle it out on the court. The NBA stars, led by Kobe Bryant played two games.

The first game was against the PBA selection team and the second one was against the national team, the Smart Gilas Pilipinas.

How the NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul lined up to compete in the Philippines!

The games were a huge hit in the country. They got to see the sheer basketball ability and prowess of these teams as they went to work and dismantled the opposition.

As clips would go around floating, these games feature some insane highlights.

Seeing these stars, courtside for a mere $130 sounds like a fever dream but it was reality. Let’s hope the NBA brings the games to more places and we will get to see them courtside.

Also read: “If you can’t appreciate that you really don’t know anything about basketball as a fan”: Charles Barkley comes out in support of Chris Paul

Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam
Chris Paul Kevin Durant Kobe Bryant NBA

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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