NBA Chooses New Orleans for 2017 All-Star Game

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2014, file photo, a worker attaches a banner to a scaffolding in New Orleans in preparation of the NBA All-Star basketball game. The NBA has decided to hold the 2017 All-Star Game in New Orleans, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, because the decision hasn't been announced. New Orleans replaces Charlotte, which was set to host the game until the NBA decided last month that it wouldn't hold its marquee, mid-season event in North Carolina because of a state law that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

NEW ORLEANS— The NBA has chosen to hold the 2017 All-Star Game in New Orleans. The league announced Friday that New Orleans would replace Charlotte, which had been set to host the game until the NBA decided last month to move it elsewhere.

Unlike several other Southern states, Louisiana has not been swept up in legislative efforts to pass laws similar to that in North Carolina—a fact Gov. John Bel Edwards has touted while lobbying the NBA to bring its All-Star weekend to New Orleans for a third time.

The All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 19, which falls during the first weekend of Mardi Gras parades.