Alright, let’s talk about this year’s All-Star game. League officials called it “embarrassing”, Jaylen Brown said “that wasn’t basketball…that was a glorified layup line”, and Luka even claimed that he “is not meant for this game”. And honestly, you don’t have to hear what the players and the rest of the league have to say about the game to know what they really think. But this makes me wonder- do these players care about All-Star weekend?
There are only 400 players in the NBA and the All-Star game features 24 players. These 24 are the NBA’s cream of the crop, the most talented, and celebrated athletes the league has to offer. So yes it does mean something for these guys to be selected and take the floor on the night of the game. But for players like Giannis who have been chosen numerous times already, as well as achieving accolades of a much higher caliber (two MVP awards, NBA Finals win, NBA Finals MVP… the list goes on), what is the point?
While watching the game it was clear that the players were not there to compete, and definitely not willing to put their million-dollar bodies on the line. So why is this game still around if players are refusing actually to play a decent game of basketball?
If you know anything about the world and how it works you probably know the answer: money. The league makes money, the host city makes money, and the arena does as well. All-Star week gives the NBA a week of concentrated revenue. Every single star is mixed into one game, providing a concentration of merchandise sales, ticket sales, and sponsorships. Seems like a great idea and it is. That is why almost all professional sports feature an All-Star game… it just makes sense. But as time goes on, more players will refuse to play in these games, and fans will stop watching. So if the NBA wants any legit chance to keep this lovely week of revenue around, they will have to switch things up.
Here is where my take comes in. Why not have a 1v1 tournament with a cash prize? The league already offers $100,000 to participants of the winning team and $25,000 for the losers, so maybe this cash prize tournament wouldn’t change much. But this way the league can offer a more concentrated prize if there are only one or a few winners ($750,000 for first place, $500,000 for second, and $250,000 for third place). Not only can the money be more of an incentive but I honestly believe this would bring bragging rights into play. Of course, I get that Joel Embiid is not going to go full force against Nikola Jokic for the full extent of an All-Star game, but in a 1v1 to eleven? I don’t think “The Joker” would be ok with getting backed down six times in a row on national television and getting handed a loss by the next best big man. Who is going to stop the fans from saying “ya of course Embiid is better, we saw them play one-on-one and Jokic didn’t score a point!”. It is my own creative and foolish take but it is something. And if the NBA does not come up with something worth watching sooner than later it really will be too late.