The NBA All-Star weekend is a fun-packed event set in the middle of the NBA regular season. The event includes a Slam Dunk contest, a 3-point contest, a skills challenge, and matches between select individuals from different teams in both conferences. The competition in all these categories is steep as previous winners look to keep their streaks going while the rest look to set new records.
In the just-concluded All-Star weekend, some changes were made to the organization of the whole event. While the dunking contest, 3-point shootout, and skills challenge remained more or less the same, the changes mostly affected the famous conference All-Star game.
There had been conversations about changing the format of the All-Star game from what it has been in previous years. It was proposed by NBA Commissioner, Adam West in consultation with some of the players, most notably Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, to change it from one main game to 4 shorter games. These would be a 4-game mini tournament, where each game’s target is to get to 40 points.
The first team was comprised of some of the G-League’s finest, who featured top rookies and second-year players. The rest of the teams were made up of the 24 NBA players who were voted for, split into 3 teams. The first team to hit 40 points would win. The two winners from this pool would play the semifinal and finally, a winner would emerge.
The teams were as follows:
- Team Shaq (OG’s): LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving.
- Team Kenny (Young Stars): Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Jaren Jackson Jr., Evan Mobley and Jalen Williams.
- Team Chuck (Global Stars): Donovan Mitchell, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Pascal Siakam, Alperen Sengun and Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Team Candace (Rising Stars): G-league All-Stars
Team Kenny faced Team Chuck while Team Shaq faced Team Candace. Team Shaq then went ahead to win against Team Chuck in the finals (42-25). While it was a fun and different way of going about the All-Stars, the format got some pushback. Players like Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets expressed some criticism of the new format but nonetheless participated in the tournament with an open mind.
This year’s All-Star was aimed at creating more competitiveness and fun among players and fans. It had been noted that previous games showed some lethargy and lack of competition. The last competitive All-Star was played in 2020, largely to honor 18-time All-Star and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, who had recently tragically passed away that year.
All in all, it was a good break from what we are used to seeing and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next year in NBA All-Star.
