The NBA is contemplating one other format change for this season’s All-Star Recreation, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. At a information convention previous to Saturday’s sport in Mexico Metropolis, commissioner Adam Silver informed reporters that Warriors star Stephen Curry has been concerned in discussions concerning the Feb. 16 showcase in San Francisco.
“We’ve had direct conversations with Steph Curry — it’s a house sport for him,” Silver stated. “I do know he’s very prideful and desires to make it possible for the gamers put their greatest foot ahead, so we’re taking a look at different codecs. I believe there’s little question that the gamers have been disenchanted as properly in final 12 months’s All-Star Recreation. All of us need to do a greater job offering competitors and leisure for our followers.”
Final season’s contest in Indianapolis was universally panned for its lack of protection and abundance of lengthy three-point photographs. The East defeated the West, 211-186, in a listless affair regardless of a plea from league govt Joe Dumars to take the sport significantly and put forth a greater effort.
Making a watchable All-Star Recreation has been a difficulty for the NBA for a number of years. In an effort to spark curiosity, the league switched its conventional East vs. West format in 2018 to have the highest two vote-getters draft the gamers for every workforce. The “Elam Ending” was adopted in 2020 to present the sport a special really feel and guarantee extra thrilling finishes.
Nevertheless, not one of the modifications actually resonated with the general public, and the league returned to the East-West matchup final season with common NBA guidelines.
“I believe all of us did what we thought we might, pondering we might significantly — in Indiana, kind of the heartland of basketball, by some means we might give it the school strive, and we’d see a extra aggressive sport,” Silver stated. “I believe, even when we might flip the clock again and get a bit extra of a aggressive sport, even when it was extra of a normal NBA sport, I believe followers would need extra.”
The perfect-received a part of final season’s All-Star Weekend was a Saturday night time taking pictures contest between Curry and WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu. Though it hasn’t been introduced, Silver stated they’ll have a rematch in San Francisco.
“If we will get extra participation, not only for the bodily exercise however for all of the values it represents,” that’s what the NBA needs, Silver stated. “And I believe showcasing these sorts of actions the place you see women and men each competing in basketball at All-Star occasions ought to more and more turn into a giant a part of it. And by the way once you have a look at the curiosity when it comes to viewership final 12 months, one of many highlights was that Sabrina-Steph shootout, so we do need to do extra of that.”
Silver additionally touched on the problem of growth, saying the league continues to check the matter however nothing ought to be thought of imminent, in response to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Seattle and Las Vegas are broadly considered because the front-runners for brand new groups, however Silver stated Mexico Metropolis is among the many areas which might be into account.
“Nothing’s been set, and we haven’t even decided whether or not to develop but,” he added. “My sense is that if we expanded, we’d do an excellent quantity, as a result of then we would should do some changes within the conferences. However I believe it is sensible to have two conferences of 16 groups if we have been to do it. There have been occasions up to now within the NBA after we had an odd quantity, so it’s potential. However I believe we probably, if we have been to develop, would look to develop to 2 cities.”
