by In the NBA’s latest and perhaps most drastic attempt to revive the league’s struggling All-Star Weekend, it announced Tuesday that it will replace the traditional All-Star Game with a pickup-style tournament.
TNT analysts and NBA veterans Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith will serve as team captains.
The announcement confirms multiple reports that the league is considering adopting a tournament format. The new format will debut on Feb. 16 when the Golden State Warriors host the league’s annual All-Star festivities. Instead of a single All-Star Game traditionally played on Sunday, the league will host a one-day tournament with four teams of eight players each.
One perennial All-Star has already commented on the format. In his words: “It’s terrible.” But more on that later. This is what the All-Star Tournament will look like:
This is how the All-Star Tournament works
Three teams consist of the 24 players selected as All-Stars. Barkley, O’Neal and Smith will assemble the teams that will be known as Team Chuck, Team Shaq and Team Kenny. The draft will be conducted on February 6th on TNT, similar to previous All-Star Drafts where two player captains selected the teams.
The fourth team will be the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge, taking place on Friday, February 14th. Four teams, comprised of first- and second-year NBA players as well as G League standouts, will play a three-game tournament to crown a champion. The Rising Stars format used in previous years serves as the model for the new All-Star Sunday tournament.
WNBA legend and TNT analyst Candace Parker will serve as honorary general manager of the Rising Stars team advancing to Sunday’s tournament. The team will be known as Team Candace.
The All-Star team coaches will come from the NBA teams with the best record in the Eastern and Western Conference beginning February 2nd. Each team’s head coaches will serve as coaches of two of the All-Star teams. Assistant coaches from each team serve as coaches for the Rising Stars Team and Third All-Star Team.
The tournament consists of two semi-finals and a championship game, each played up to 40 points. The league’s announcement did not address how teams would be seeded.
Kevin Durant on new format: “I hate it”
Kevin Durant has already commented on the new format. He doesn’t agree. Durant was asked about the format at Suns practice on Tuesday. Here’s what he had to say:
I asked Kevin Durant what he thought about the new format of the NBA All-Star Game: “I hate it. I absolutely hate it. Terrible…We should just go back to East-West.” pic.twitter.com/T7owR5aJY7
– Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) December 17, 2024
“I hate it,” Durant said. “I absolutely hate it. It’s terrible. All-Star game formats change – all formats are terrible in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West and just play a game.”
“I think we tried to kind of bring that flavor back with All-Star Weekend. But I think we just keep the tradition. But we’ll see how this one works. You never know. I could be wrong. Me.” “I’m just another guy with a different opinion.”
What Durant may or may not be aware of here is that he was playing in an East versus West format that was revived last season and resulted in a final score of 211-186 in a game where there was little competition and even less defense gave.
Will a cash prize motivate players?
There will be cash at stake, with a total prize pool of $1.8 million. Players on teams that lose in the semifinals will each receive $25,000. The losers of the championship game will each receive $50,000. The players on the championship team will each receive $125,000.
The league is changing the format to produce a competitive product during its All-Star Showcase. Recent years’ All-Star Games have featured little to no defense or competitive effort and offered fans little reason to tune in.
The league has made several changes to the All-Star Game over the years to create a more compelling product. The traditional East vs. West format was eliminated and instead a playground-style game with teams selected by All-Star captains was introduced, returning to the East vs. West format in 2024.
There have been tinkerings with the scoring, including an Elam final format introduced in 2020. Charity prize pools have been added, with larger prizes awarded to the winning team’s chosen charity.
None of the previous changes have resulted in engaging or competitive basketball. Is the new pickup tournament the answer?
