NBA All-Star weekend is supposed to be one of the most exciting events on the basketball calendar. Instead, the topic of conversation surrounding the All-Star game has been overwhelmingly negative, especially this year.
The changes to the format did not bring back the flare to the game that the league had hoped for and not only did fans express their frustrations all over social media, the players did not hold back either.
Warriors forward Draymond Green did not mince words when it came to his thoughts on the new format, questioning why players who were not selected as All-Stars were given the opportunity to compete against players who were. Although it would have been unlikely, the new format allowed for the possibility of someone on the rising stars team to win the entire tournament and the All-Star game MVP.
With All-Star weekend in a tough spot right now, I have an idea that could draw more viewers to the game.
I have been watching basketball for nearly a decade now and the two best All-Star games I watched from start to finish were the 2018 and 2020 games. The 2018 game was in Los Angeles and it was one of the more unique All-Star games in NBA history because it was the first time the league experimented with a draft format as opposed to the classic West vs. East style of play.
The two captains that year were Stephen Curry and LeBron James, as determined by whichever player in the conference received the most fan votes. This format brought a new feel to the All-Star game and it made the players compete harder as the game went down to the final possession. Team LeBron beat Team Stephen by a score of 148-145 and James captured his third All-Star game MVP award.
Because of how successful the game was, the league kept this format in place next season and while the game was not as exciting, players still competed more intensely than they had in previous years.
But the absolute best All-Star viewing experience I’ve had as a fan was the 2020 game. The draft format was the same, it was televised for the second year in a row and the league added a cool twist. To honor basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who passed away not long before the game, the league had one team change all of their jersey numbers to 24 and the others to 2.
The other change for this game involved creating a target score for the fourth quarter to end the game. The rule added 24 points to the leading team’s point total after the third quarter and determined that whichever team reached that score first, won in an untimed, commercial-free fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was what NBA fans would call “absolute cinema,” as every player gave maximum effort. The two captains, James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were guarding each other the entire quarter and Team LeBron escaped with a 157-155 win.
Those two All-Star games were so entertaining because the format was fresh, but not complicated. The main problem with this year’s format is that it was too complicated for the casual fan to understand, and any event that aspires to be as big as All-Star weekend needs to capture the casual fans’ attention.
As a die-hard fan, I will watch the game every year. However, with football season now over, this should be basketball’s time to shine, and recent All-Star games have not shown the best the NBA has to offer.
The league should switch back to the draft format, an entertaining television product in and of itself that also made for some of the best All-Star games we have seen in some time.
Along with that, the league needs to give the players a real incentive to try hard in the game, such as giving the MVP award winner’s conference home court advantage in the NBA Finals.
At the end of the day, if the players play hard and show that they care about the All-Star game, the fans will too. Now it’s up to the league to give the players a reason to be passionate about the All-Star game again.