Red Auerbach was once ejected from an All-Star Game due to a dispute over a call, while Rick Barry and Bob Cousy had the rare distinction of fouling out twice in these exhibitions. Dwyane Wade made a mark in history by committing the first flagrant foul in an All-Star Game, which resulted in Kobe Bryant suffering a broken nose. Following that 2012 game, Wade reached out to Bryant to express his apologies, but Bryant’s response was unexpectedly light-hearted, stating, “Bro, I love it,” a moment that has since become legendary in the NBA community.
The NBA has long sought to elevate the competitive nature of the All-Star Game, urging players to take the event more seriously while striving to minimize ejections, foul trouble, and injuries. The latest attempt to achieve this is a radical shift in format, introducing an innovative mini-tournament style. This year’s All-Star format features three separate games without a running clock, with the objective being the first team to reach 40 points. Teams will consist of eight players, and there’s a chance that the winning team might not even include a single All-Star.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver explained the need for a fresh approach: “We went back to the drawing board.” The big question for the upcoming Sunday is whether this new format will resonate with players and fans alike.
Skepticism surrounded Silver’s previous introductions, such as the play-in tournament for playoff spots, which has ultimately become a success. Similarly, the newly established NBA Cup has garnered attention despite initial confusion over its structure. Now, the NBA believes that players are unwilling to commit to a traditional 48-minute All-Star Game. To address this, the league has proposed shorter games, reducing the pressure on players since the goal is now merely reaching a total of 40 points.
Kevin Durant voiced his discontent with the new format, stating, “I hate it. Absolutely hate it. Terrible,” although he later acknowledged that his words might not have fully captured his feelings. In contrast, fellow All-Star Anthony Davis expressed his ambivalence, noting, “I don’t really like it… but we’ll see how it goes this year.”
The format may be up for reconsideration in the future. While some players favor the classic East vs. West setup, it recently drew criticism when the teams scored an astonishing 211-186 in a game last year, leading the league to rethink its strategies. The NBA had previously tested a target-score mechanism to conclude games by chasing a set total, yielding mixed results, and had tried allowing team captains to select their squads, also with varying levels of success.
This year’s tournament will include a prize pool of $1.8 million, with rewards for players on the winning team receiving $125,000 each, while those on the runner-up team will get $50,000, and semifinalists will earn $25,000 each. Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat, gearing up for his All-Star debut, remarked, “I don’t know if everyone understands how this is going to go… But everyone will want to win.”
The tournament will feature four teams: three drafted by Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley from a pool of 24 All-Stars, alongside a fourth team emerging from the Rising Stars event held on Friday night. Interestingly, the Rising Stars participants are not All-Stars, and some of them might not even currently play in the NBA, including players from the G League. This means that teams could win the All-Star Game without having any established All-Stars on their rosters.
This new format represents a striking contrast to the previous year, when each quarter saw both the East and West teams easily surpassing 42 points. Notably, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points on his own last year, but this time around, it will only take 40 points for a team to achieve victory.
Oklahoma City’s All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander commented on the NBA’s attempt to stir things up, stating, “Them trying to shake things up is expected and makes sense. But at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to whether the players wanting to go at it, and I would love to see that.” Meanwhile, Kevin Love reflected on the evolution of the All-Star Game, noting how the game has shifted towards a more casual, exhibition-style atmosphere, driven by a higher incidence of three-point shooting and a general lack of competitiveness.
“I’ll tell you if this will work,” Love concluded. “I’ll tell you on Sunday.”
