It may be the NBA's All-Star Game, but this particular event now belongs to an entire planet of basketball fanatics - an All-Star Game for all the world!

This weekend sees the game's greatest players assemble in Los Angeles for the NBA All-Star festivities, from the got milk? Rookie Challenge in its new Friday evening time slot, through the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout and Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competitions on Saturday, to the showpiece 53rd All-Star Game at the Staples Center on Sunday evening.

The success of International players like Houston's Yao Ming (China) has taken All-Star to that next level. Bill Baptist NBAE/Getty Images

But what was once a purely American affair now belongs to the entire globe. Across numerous time zones and thousands of miles, basketball fans from Los Angeles to London, from Berlin to Beijing, will be staying up until obscure hours of the night and day to watch their favourite NBA stars - and several of their own countrymen - taking part.

It is all a far cry from just a few short years ago. In 1987, as far back as the NBA's records stretch, 31 international journalists attended the All-Star Game in Seattle. By 1992, and the year NBA stars took the Barcelona Olympics by storm, that figure had risen to 95 media from 17 countries.

This year? The NBA has to find room for 325 journalists from 41 different countries at the Staples Center!

Of course, television coverage has been the key way for NBA supporters around the globe to follow the All-Star Game. In 1992, 87 broadcasters showed the game in 105 different countries and territories. Move on a dozen years, and 103 TV stations are beaming All-Star events to 212 countries - in 42 languages!

"I remember in 1987, we thought 31 was an awful lot of international journalists," says Terry Lyons, the NBA's vice president of international public relations. "When we reached the 100 mark in the early 1990's we couldn't believe our eyes. Now, these figures are amazing.

"So much of the increased interest is attributable to players, the success of players like Dirk Nowitzki and Yao Ming has taken All-Star to that next level. There were always a number of media who would come to All-Star, almost out of curiosity, to cover the weekend as a spectacle. Now, All-Star is about legitimate news stories with credible interest in literally every corner of the globe."

All-Star has always been about those great players and, now of course, they are great players from all over the world. The 2004 All-Star Game features six international players - Nowitzki (Germany), Yao (China), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia), Peja Stojakovic (Serbia and Montenegro), Jamaal Magloire (Canada), Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) - a quarter of the 24 spots on the two Conference teams.

"I think one of the big attractions of the All-Star Game is that over the last few years it has become a more competitive contest," says Kevin Cadle, the popular presenter of Sky TV's NBA coverage in the U.K. "This is the third year we've done the Game live, the sixth in total, and I've seen a real upturn in interest.

The All-Star play of Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) has contributed to an explosion of interest in the NBA in Germany. Glenn James NBAE/Getty Images

"It seemed that for years, it was the same guys - greats like Magic and Larry, then Michael - they showed up and did a couple of amazing things then just hung out for the weekend! Now, you've got new names, young hungry guys being introduced to All-Star and they are all trying to prove a point. For me, that makes it the best All-Star Game in all American sport.

"Our coverage will start at about 1:00 a.m. UK time this year but I know from previous years that our viewing figures will be very good. Just like the Super Bowl, it's a one-off event that fans don't mind staying up through the night to watch."

Of course, in countries who claim an All-Star as one of their own, interest is even greater. Chris Finch, formerly a successful coach with the Sheffield Sharks in the British Basketball League, is now in charge of the Giessen 46ers in Germany's Bundesliga where, of course, Dallas Mavericks forward Nowitzki is king.

"Dirk has given the NBA a real boost in Germany and, of course, him playing in the All-Star Game is the icing on the cake," says Finch.

"My team's general manager was telling me that the All-Star Game has always been a big deal in Germany. Sometimes it was only on tape delay or they would get hold of a video tape somehow, but he and his buddies would get together to watch the Game. It was always the pinnacle because all the great players were together on one court.

All-Star or not, Cleveland rookie LeBron James still attracts a lot of attention. Kent Horner NBAE/Getty Images

"Now, of course, it's even more important because a lot of NBA fans in Germany have seen Dirk play over here as a kid and followed his career. And I guess it's the same in China with Yao Ming, in Serbia with Peja, and so on."

This year, it is not just current All-Stars who will be grabbing the attention. The Rookie Game, featuring heralded Cleveland Cavaliers newcomer LeBron James who missed out on inclusion for the All-Star Game, will be keenly viewed.

"A lot of people thought LeBron should have been on the All-Star team but his time will come," says Cavaliers assistant Bob Donewald jnr, a legend in the UK from his coaching days in the BBL. "I'm just pleased he will have the chance to experience the whole All-Star weekend.

"I've been to the last two, in Atlanta and Philadelphia, and I think it is an amazing weekend. The professionalism of the whole thing is outstanding, it really is something to behold and, above all else, it's a lot of fun!"

Ian Whittell is a veteran journalist and currently serves as the NBA writer for The Times. He has been covering the NBA for 10 years and this year will mark his ninth straight year of covering the NBA All-Star Game.