The NBA All-Star Game, like the Los Angeles Lakers, needs a jolt to become relevant again.
For years, the NBA All-Star Game has been void of many Los Angeles Lakers and nothing but a joke game where players come and throw lobs off the backboard to each other or themselves, dribble through each other’s legs, and have the starting center dribble the ball up court.
They are always high scoring with no defense being played until the fourth quarter and even then, barely any is played. The way this offseason has gone, there might not even be a need for the fourth quarter. The Western Conference might beat the East by over a 100 points and that is not an extreme prediction.
It has been a pretty exciting offseason thus far with the Wild West getting even wilder. After all of the offseason moves and trades occurring, everyone is talking about how much of a powerhouse the Western Conference has become. So much so that Adam Silver even said he may revisit the idea of changing the conference layout in a couple of years but until then maybe he’ll consider making the All-Star Game a different format.
Even though the players might not take the All-Star Game seriously, it is still a great accomplishment for a player to make an All-Star team. When players accomplishments are discussed, the number of All-Star games they played in is always mentioned.
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With the new strength of the Western Conference, a lot of players in the Eastern Conference will make it over more qualified players in the West. With that being said, I have an idea on how to change that.
First off, fans voting for the starters need to change. I understand fans are the most important part of the sport and all, but, that doesn’t mean they should have all the power in determining the starters. Last season’s MVP Russell Westbrook didn’t even start for the West and he averaged a triple-double.
To settle the conference power struggle, the top 24 players in the NBA are selected to the All-Star Game. Starters and reserves will be chosen based on their performance that season, regardless of what conference they are in. This way players are recognized for their performance and not their fan base.
Once the starters are announced, the two leading vote getters from the fan vote become Team Captains. The reserves are then selected the same way they are every year. Once all All-Stars have been selected, there will be a draft.
A coin flip will determine which captain selects first and then it’s a good old fashioned pickup game draft, similar to the way the NFL did the Pro Bowl this year. The big gest difference is this draft is selected by players actually playing in the game now Hall of Fame retired players.
Why this makes sense:
First off, it immediately makes the All-Star Game more interesting. It becomes a pickup game with superstars and they’ll want to be more competitive because they are the ones who drafted the team. You always want to win more when you’re the one who made the team.
At the end of the day, these guys are competitors and they are always looking for a reason to compete. Also, it makes the All-Star Game more of pickup game than a Harlem Globetrotters show. I think the players would take it more seriously, the fans would love it, and I think the draft alone would gain more viewers than the Dunk Contest does now.
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Imagine Stephen Curry and LeBron James drafting players in the TNT studios as the All-Stars watch at home to find out who’s team they are on and who they playing with. I think this is something NBA fans will enjoy and be excited to watch.