The Solution for the NBA All-Star Game
With uninspired defense and players chucking up lackluster low-percentage threes, the All-Star game mirrors many of the problems in your standard NBA match. In that, it just doesn’t result in a very engaging and entertaining product if you’re not invested in your team. This season they experimented with a couple of changes that didn’t do much except make the games shorter. Despite the attempted spruced-up competition, the players knew that the games didn’t matter. The solution to this whole mess, make it count.
Now how does one go about making the games mean something? Since in this new era, the postseason is the only thing that matters having it affect homecourt advantage come season’s end would make sense. The next step is to make sure every fanbase is engaged; this is done by having a system similar to baseball where every team and market has at least one representative in the festivities. So there isn’t a situation similar to the Sacramento Kings where they didn’t have any players in the All-Star Games, contests, or Rising Stars competition. Having at least one player from each market would give every fanbase a reason to watch and support their hometown heroes.
So we’ve established it should have some impact on the playoffs and every team should have a nominee. Now what should we have, at a bare minimum, 30 players do? What is the most exciting tournament structure in North American sports? If you said March Madness you would not be wrong. Setting up a tournament-style one-on-one competition for the All-Stars would provide a unique and engaging atmosphere. That would result in must-see TV for those who are fans of individual players as well as of a team. It’d be something for your LeBron James fans and your Orlando Magic fans.
The first 22 spots are determined by fan voting broken up to 11 in each conference the standard way it's been done. They would have an automatic spot in the second round. The remaining spots are filled in by 20 players who go head-to-head in the first round to cut that number to 10 at large bids. Those 10 combine with the 22 fan-voted All-Stars to total 32 for the start of the real tournament. Which would be split up into East and West sides of the bracket. Each match-up would be first to 21 points and consist of half-court one-on-one. Those 20 non-fan-voted All-Stars would be determined by the coaches and media voting and if a team does not have a fan-voted All-Star they would receive one of these bids.
With the second round of the tournament consisting of 32, the winners move on to cut it to 16 and then so on until only two players are standing. One from the East and one from the West. If a team’s representative makes it to the final round they would automatically receive a bid for the play-in tournament if they don’t qualify based on the standings. Or if they were in the play-in already their team would automatically get one of the remaining playoff seeds. Additionally, the winning player’s team gets guaranteed homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
In a league dominated by their stars, this plan lets the association’s biggest stars have the ball in their hands to control their destiny. Imagine a final round of Jalen Brunson versus Kyrie Irving going move for move or shot for shot. Even players like Devin Booker and Giannis Antetokounmpo a technical marvels with the basketball versus the literal Greek Freak. Adding extra heft to that matchup is Booker’s Phoenix Suns are currently on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. If he were to win a hypothetical tournament this season he would cement his team a shot in the play-in and homecourt advantage. This would allow the NBA to keep a team with two of their biggest stars Booker and Kevin Durant in the playoffs thanks to this potential change in All-Star format.
Having a one-on-one tournament would provide the league with the extra competition they’ve been searching for. As well as promoting their stars to even bigger stages. It would also give every market a representative as well as someone and something to root for. The playoff implications would motivate the players, plus one-on-one is gritty and would result in a better product. The potential impact of this tournament would reverberate around the sports world making for must-watch TV solving the NBA’s All-Star problem.
