The NBA is considering changing the format of the All-Star Game to be played in San Francisco later this season, Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday night.
Silver, speaking before the Miami-Washington game in Mexico City, is looking for the most competitive All-Star event in a long time. The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 last season, tying the most points in the game’s 73-year history and the first time a team has surpassed 200 points.
“We’re looking at other formats,” Silver said without specifying what might change. “I think there’s no doubt that the players are also disappointed in last year’s All-Star Game. We all want to do a better job of providing competition and entertainment for our fans.”
Silver added that the league is looking to make the All-Star Game “not a classic game format,” but stopped short of saying what that might mean.
The league has used the All-Star formula several times in recent years. Among the efforts was the abolition of the format of East vs. West has a long-standing draft of team captains and going into the fourth quarter with no time limit on the target to ensure that the game must end in a shootout.
Last year’s game is back to normal – four full 12-minute quarters, East versus West. And it was nothing but an offensive show, with the teams combining for 168 3-point attempts and nearly 400 points.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a great fit,” Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton said after the game in Indianapolis, in which five players scored at least 30 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 on 35 shots off the bench.
Silver said since the game is in San Francisco, he has brought in Golden State star Stephen Curry to help find a way to make the All-Star Game more competitive this season. Any changes would have to involve the leadership of the National Basketball Players Association.
“It’s a home game for him,” Silver said, adding that he’s had “direct conversations” with Curry about the topic. “I know he’s proud and wants to make sure the players put their best foot forward.”
Curry said last year the players talked “a little bit” about making the All-Star Game more competitive in certain ways. The league has wanted that for a long time, hoping that a better All-Star tournament leads to better television ratings for the game and more outside interest.
“I think everyone was disappointed by what they saw last year,” said Silver. “It wasn’t just the league. It was the players as well, the players’ organization. I think we all did what we thought we could do, thinking especially in Indiana, kind of a basketball hotbed, we’re going to see a very competitive game. .”
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Silver also pointed out that no one expects the All-Star Game to have playoff-type intensity. He said league managers Byron Spruell, Joe Dumars and Evan Wasch have formed a committee that will talk to team representatives and the players’ union to try to find a solution.
“We want to do something that will make the fans happy and the players happy, so it’s something they will be interested in playing,” said Silver.
It is reported by the Associated Press.
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