NBA Increases Bonuses For All-Star Winners

In the wake of 2017’s NBA All-Star Game, a 192-182 contest that featured the usual lack of defensive effort, the NBA made changes to the format, moving away from the East vs. West matchup. According to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, the league has also made another under-the-radar tweak, as players on the winning team will now earn $100K rather than $50K.

ESPN’s Chris Haynes goes into more detail on the change in a story of his own, noting that the difference between the bonuses for the winners ($100K) and losers ($25K) is significantly wider than it was before. The league presumably hopes to make the game a little more competitive by adding that extra incentive to win it.

According to Haynes, many All-Star players actually weren’t aware of the increase in bonus money for the winning team. However, several All-Stars who spoke to ESPN and were informed of the additional incentive believe it should have an impact on the level of play on the court.

“I would like to think so,” Celtics big man Al Horford told Haynes. “I think guys will definitely take the game more seriously. In the last couple of years, the games haven’t been good, and we’re all aware of that. Regardless of that, I think guys are going to come out and compete. But that’s a big incentive, for sure. We’re going to be diving for loose balls out there.”

Kyrie Irving added that the jump from $50K to $100K represents a “huge difference,” with Klay Thompson suggesting that “it will definitely help.” Stephen Curry was also in favor of the change, though he had a few other thoughts on how to improve All-Star weekend.

“An idea I have is shortening the day. The entire game day is the biggest drag for us,” Curry said to ESPN. “Media [obligations], sponsorship appearances, [extravagant, prolonged] All-Star introductions. It’s obviously a made-for-TV event. After all that, then there’s the game. That’s a lot. But all the changes should help make the game a little better.”