Sam Amick

USA TODAY Sports

Just days after fans, players, coaches and media members endured subzero temperatures at a second consecutive, frozen-tundra style NBA All-Star experience, there’s hope of warmer days on the horizon: the sun-stained city of Los Angeles is the likely location for the league’s annual affair in 2018.

According to two people with knowledge of the situation, the NBA and Los Angeles officials have made significant progress toward finalizing a partnership for the event. The deal is not done, but the prospect of All-Star weekend returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 2011 is very strong. The people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because an agreement had not yet been reached.

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The 2015 All-Star game took place amid record-low temperatures in New York City, while this past weekend’s affair in Toronto included the coldest day in the Canadian city since 1994. The 2017 All-Star game is scheduled to take place in Charlotte, N.C.

Indianapolis and Miami were also known to be on the league’s short list of possible cities for 2018. Sacramento officials had hoped to land the 2018 event as a fitting reward for the expected October opening of the Kings’ Golden 1 Center in the downtown area, but have since shifted their focus to a 2019 bid.

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