There’s usually a lot of excitement surrounding All-Star weekend, but the All-Star Game itself has turned into a joke for many fans, with no one particularly interested in playing any defense and hustling up and down the court being optional.
Since 2014, no losing team has failed to score fewer than 150 points. This year’s contest in Utah took it to new levels of absurdity, as both sides would have scored over 200 points if the “target score” rule wasn’t used in the fourth quarter. Nuggets coach Michael Malone called it the “worst basketball game ever played.”
It wasn’t always that way, In 2005 and 2006, the final scores were 125-115 and 122-120. That would be a typical score now for a regular season game.
The NFL finally gave up on the concept of having a Pro Bowl game this year, opting for a flag football extravaganza. Major League Baseball tried to make its annual All-Star Game more meaningful a few years back by awarding the winning league home field advantage in the World Series.
Is it time for the NBA to make its All-Star more meaningful, or at least make it less like a Harlem Globetrotters-style offensive exhibition?
The league did make a major change in 2018, appointing team captains and scrapping the East vs. West conference showdowns. The teams are now chosen by the captains. This year, the league added a little twist, having the captains choose the squads on game night.
It’s up to interpretation whether that format has been more successful, or simply more confusing for fans to choose a side. It’s safe to say no one really cares which team ends up winning.
Erasing the game altogether would probably not fly. Host cities have a lot invested in the game but it would be nice to find some middle ground between the game being a shameless exhibition and a hard-fought contest.
That brings us to today’s topic: Do you like having captains choose the All-Star teams or would you prefer to revert back to the East vs. West matchup? In what ways would you propose to improve the quality of the All-Star Game and make it more meaningful?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Honestly it was super boring I ended up having to change the channel because of the horrible terrible horrible defense. It’s just not basketball.
Pretty obvious that this just boils down to the fact that some people just have to be outraged about something. But to answer the question, perhaps banning Kyrie from any future all-star festivities would make the maga crowd more comfortable watching
I can’t stand the MAGA conspiracy crowd, but that’s also kind of the same reason I can’t stand Kyrie.
@MattFoley Yeah, I just kind of assume that Kyrie is on team MAGA based on the crazy *stuff* he says.
He is not MAGA….. would be happy to have him though
Ah yes everything I don’t like is a conspiracy, Grow up child
It’s a meaningless exhibition. It’s a chance for anybody who wants to shell out the cash to see future legends in person. It’s minor entertainment for a boring evening. It should NOT be an additional chance for any team’s star or superstar to get hurt just as the playoff push is here.
May I repeat… It’s a MEANINGLESS exhibition, designed for fan favorites to show off. Leave it be.
Haven’t watched an All Star game since Kobes last
It’s nice they all get to take a break tho, even the ALL Stars
I still remember that ’87 all-star ….. Blackman on the FT line with no time left, Magic hyping him up, Isiah psyching him out.
The recent ASG’s, just unwatchable.
This thing has gone the way of the nfl pro bowl. Please kill this atrocity off sooner than later. It’s an embarrassment to the sport of basketball. Vote for the players and still announce the team but stop playing this joke of a game.
Calling it an atrocity is a bit excessive. It’s a meaningless exhibition game that you don’t have to watch. I personally like watching the high flying dynamic offenses going to work with just enough defense near the end to make it respectable. Obviously that didn’t work out this year since the game was out of reach for the other team entering the 4th, but it is what it is. Getting rid of the game altogether is a bad business move for the league. It’s a fun little showing, leave it be.
Based on the comments here, way more people align with my thoughts than yours. That thing was an embarrassment to the sport of basketball.
I don’t care how many peoples “thoughts” align with yours. I’m just telling you that I don’t see a future where the NBA gets rid of the all star game. It doesn’t make sense business wise. It’s good profit for the cities who host it every year and brings together the league’s best players for an exhibition. It’s not meant to be the NBA Finals or anything. I just hope they continue to adjust certain things to make it more competitive in the future.
I watched an old school all-star game the other day, I think 1992 or 93. Final score was 126-107 or something like that. They played good competitive b-ball.
Authenticity. Make it authentic again and the fans approval will return.
Explain 2 days of wasted fluff?? Then a dumb game.
Stop playing the game if everyone is on the verge of injury. Or if you care about how many fans stream it or not.
I think the NBA cares about it, so what is the point in asking fans? AS weekend is like SEMA Las Vegas. Corporate clients only. It definitely has that feel
They definitely need to get back to East and West.
They need to stop letting players and captains pick the teams. I’m not feeling that.
Then they should do like MLB. The winning team gets home court advantage in the NBA Finals.
MLB, after the outrage of a HUGE percentage of fans and players, abandoned that idea for the obvious atrocity it was. The major reason cited was putting undue importance on one otherwise meaningless exhibition game and discounting an entire season.
I don’t have a problem with it. It’s a meaningless exhibition game showcasing the best players on the planet. No reason to risk injury.
All-star games used to be competitive, so what changed? Is it that the league doesn’t currently have a Jordan or Kobe? I mean, dudes like that didn’t even want to lose pickup games in the off-season. Closest might be Giannis, but maybe he doesn’t intimidate others (including–especially?–his teammates) in the same way those guys did back in the day.
Regarding MJ’s competitiveness, this ESPN article is pretty great: link to es.pn
(Need to acknowledge my bias as a Bucks fan about Giannis. Maybe other current guys fit the bill, but I’m more in tune with the Freak’s actions and words. He’s one of the best in the world, yet he still trains his *butt* off and continually focuses on the details to become even better. He takes the concept of driven to a whole ‘nother level.)
Anyhow, maybe the ASG needs another all-time great like that to say, “Nah, we ain’t *messing* around. There’s no *flipping* way we’re losing this game” in whatever manner those legends did. But I don’t think that’s something that can be incentivized. It’s intrinsic. Just part of the DNA for the elite of the elite of the elite.
“All-star games used to be competitive, so what changed?”
Paying guys a bazillion dollars to help make the playoffs…
That’s a fair point. Adjusted for inflation, Jordan earned less than $167 million over a ten-year career (according to Forbes) (the financial magazine, not recently arrested NBA free agent Bryn Forbes…). Of course, the almost $2 billion he earned from endorsements–I’m not positive if that number accounts for inflation (seems like it would, though)–is plenty of reason not to feel sorry for the man.
But MJ was always driven to make the playoffs, no? And, while there are probably a lot of NBA players who earn $167MM over ten years nowadays, he must’ve had one of the top salaries back then. So, doesn’t that kind of take away that argument? The dude didn’t want to lose EVER and it contributed to entertaining, memorable all-star games.
What would be interesting to research is if current players are more prone to injuries than players used to be. Perhaps they’re more likely to get hurt now? That would certainly be an understandable reason for not wanting to give it their all in a meaningless game that’s supposed to be for the fans. But that is just a very rough theory developed off the top of the head and without any concrete data to support or refute it.
Valid point (and amazing to see the stat on MJ’s career earnings!). I think a LOT of the pressure to not play hard and not get hurt comes from the team/owners anymore. The lack of desire to win the exhibition seems to coincide nicely with exploding salaries. There’s too many “Chet Holmgren” situations to justify the risk of getting hurt.
The research idea regarding injuries is interesting. If I had to hazard a guess and a theory, I’ll guess there ARE more injuries now, and the universal increased strength training across the league might be why. The league doesn’t have a few freak specimens any more – even guys on the third team are beasts.
Scrap the game, play a bracket style tournament of HORSE
I’ve actually wondered for many years why this isn’t a part of the festivities! I think that would be a lot of fun to watch!
The game is different today than it was 20, even 10 years ago. There is no point in trying to compare today’s all star game against one from the 80s. You can blame whomever you like but the real culprit is just time and changing culture.
These guys don’t just have too much to lose, they’re more aware of it. Guys take better care of themselves. It’s stupid to say they’re not as competitive — of course they are. You have to be when the talent in the league is better than its ever been.
Trying to add stakes just won’t work. Too many competing priorities between the league and the players, and even players themselves.
Just let it be what it is, a meaningless exhibition game meant to do just that — exhibit the leagues best talent. It’s a commercial for the NBA, kids like it and it helps generate a youth audience, and best of all if you don’t like it you don’t have to watch.
Things like changing between captains/east west every few years is a good idea just to keep it fresh.
Finally, if you’re whining about the outcome of the game being pointless AND you’re complaining they didn’t play enough defense…what are you even doing. Get a life already lol.
The real games suck of course the ASG game stinks
There’s no saving the ASG, because to save it, players would have to care about it. They don’t now, and they probably won’t again. It’s not a test of their ability anymore – it’s simply a mid season break.
They can gimmick it up to keep it afloat for a while, but they aren’t fixing the problem.
I’d rather see the league put a big pool of money in front of the rising stars squads, and make it winner takes all. Then, you’ll get hungry players going after it.
This is one of the better ideas ^^^
Team Long vs. Team Short.
The taller half of the players against the shorter half. While the guards can shoot and dribble, the big guys connect through high passes, take it to the rim or bomb from beyond the arc (Markkanen et al.).
Would be interesting to observe the little guys weasel their way to the hoop for a layup while getting abused by the bigs with a tomahawk dunk on the other end. Imagine Embiid coming on like a freight train and knocking Curry into the third row of the seats, arms flailing, salivated mouthpiece landing in someone’s drink.
Or a good old pistol duel, last man standing.
I love this idea lol. I picture Curry showing up in high heels trying to get over the height requirement and everyone has a good laugh. Then he keeps the heels on and sinks a half court shot. Then he keeps them on for press conferences, around the house, etc.