Since the NBA can’t figure it out, I fixed the All-Star Game

Any Boston Celtics player who is named an All-Star this season will be amongst the first to play in the league’s new pick-up game format.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the NBA will introduce a four-team All-Star tournament in San Francisco this February. Three teams of eight All-Stars and one Rising Stars team will compete in two semifinal games up to 40 points. Then, the two winners will play a game up to 25 to decide the tournament champion.

After the embarrassment we (well, not me —I didn’t watch because it was lame) all witnessed in Indianapolis this past February, it was clear that this event was due for a change.

“After the East defeated the West 211-186 in the highest-scoring All-Star Game in league history in February, NBA commissioner Adam Silver publicly and privately admitted the competition level had slipped drastically and there might not be a fix,” Charania wrote. “The league and the National Basketball Players Association, however, maintained dialogue in recent months on how to add uniqueness to the 2025 event.”

This event is nothing if not unique, but it’s tough to imagine that much more motivation is being added for the players. Is it more difficult to win a competition between four teams rather than two?

Sure.

Will the stars want to avoid losing to rookies?

Absolutely.

Will they be motivated to try and win the whole thing?

Probably not significantly more than last season.

In order for the players to want to compete in an exhibition game, there’s going to have to be more pride involved. What would be fun is if they took the 24 All-Stars and had them play in a one-on-one tournament. If you’re looking for pride, then look no further.

Think about it. They’d be taking two dozen of the world’s best, who all have incredible confidence and egos to play at the level they do, and telling them to go out there and prove why they are the best or at least most skilled.

Some of the best moments in the All-Star Games, or even regular-season games for that matter, come when two guys are going back and forth trading buckets. There’s a reason why people will still talk about the Larry Bird vs. Dominique Wilkins duel from the 1988 playoffs, or the Paul Pierce vs. LeBron James matchup from Game 7 in 2008. It’s awesome to watch.

The NBA could essentially market this as a mini-March Madness type of thing. People would actually look forward to it. There would be endless chaos and upsets to look forward to with the sheer volume of competitors involved. Not to mention the way that the association has fallen in love with its betting partners.

This would be a bettor’s paradise (at least for a little while before they inevitably watch their pick come up short).

Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images

Now, there would have to be some brainstorming to try and minimize the height advantages and disadvantages between some of these stars.

Maybe there’s a dribble limit to prevent bigs from relentlessly backing down guards or guards throwing a plethora of dribble combos at the bigs. Much like the updated format, the games would have to have target scores — probably something quick, maybe seven?

Other All-Star Weekend Ideas

Let’s not sit here and pretend that the rest of All-Star Weekend is a fun watch. The Skills Challenge thing that they do is fun, but the Three Point Contest is bland, and the Dunk Contest is unbelievably washed.

The league should be just as concerned with these events as they are about the main game. All-Star Saturday Night was something to look forward to back in the day. Now, all anyone (including me, right now) does is complain about it.

Here are a few quick concepts that would get eyeballs on the hoops extravaganza.

Coaching staff tournament

You read that right.

What if the NBA put together a small tournament where each team’s coaching staff is invited to compete? Invited is the keyword here. We all know that Gregg Popovich and the boys aren’t going to be lacing ‘em up, but you can’t tell me that Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics staff wouldn’t love the opportunity to compete against the rest of the league.

Mazzulla had to be told not to try and block the shots of opposing players during games last season. He is a competitor through and through.

On top of that, you’d have former players like Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, and Jordi Fernandez, just to name a few.

Maybe this is an event geared more towards people who are really in the weeds like me, but it’d be a good time. Trust me.

HORSE

This is one I’ve been pushing for years. The NBA needs to implement HORSE to All-Star Weekend. I feel like people who aren’t even into the game of basketball still love themselves a good trick shot.

Just think about how many people gather around to watch Stephen Curry try and make a shot from the tunnel before a game at Chase Center.

This truly could be the headliner. That’s right. Out with the Dunk Contest, in with HORSE.

You could even change the dunk contest’s format to coincide with HORSE. Instead of seeing guys trying to avoid doing a dunk that’s been done before, you’d have them trying to keep up with one another.