New All-Star game format with — hopefully — better results

Ashley Mezewich, Contributing Writer • February 10, 2025

The NBA is yet again trying to fix the issues surrounding the NBA All-Star Game.

The league returned to the Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format for last year’s All-Star game after having the players with the most All-Star votes in each conference select their teams from 2018-2023. Commissioner Adam Silver said that it was time to return to the original format, as the event occurred in Indianapolis, a “traditional market.’’

However, after last year’s game ended with a 211-186 final score, it was apparent that more changes needed to be made.

On Dec. 17, the NBA and the National Basketball Player’s Association announced a new format for the game, revealing that this year’s competition will be a mini-tournament.

In this tournament, there will be four teams: three will consist of the NBA All-Stars and the other will be the winning team from the Castrol Rising Stars championship. To win a game, the team must be the first to reach or exceed 40 points.

The All-Star teams will be decided by a draft, like the system used from 2018-2023. But instead of players drafting the teams, it will be Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, who are all part of TNT’s hit studio show “Inside the NBA.” They will select from a pool of players that were voted in based on conference.

Candace Parker will be the honorary general manager for the Rising Stars victor.

The teams will be coached by the head coaches of the top team in each conference and one of their assistant coaches.

Kevin Durant, a 15-time All-Star, called this new format “terrible.” He wants the NBA to just play a game and stick with the East vs. West format. He did say he “might be wrong.’’

LeBron James noted that “something had to change” with the game. He also mentioned that it is not just in the All-Star game but the league in general that players attempt a lot of 3-pointers. Yet, the biggest problem with the All-Star game has not been threes, but defensive effort.

The game has become almost entirely offensive, featuring wide-open dunks and deep, uncontested threes. While it is cool to see these impressive shots, it becomes boring watching the teams go back and forth without the defense even trying to contest shots.

I do have hope that this new format can alleviate these issues.

A team that is struggling to score will have to play defense — otherwise, their opponent will have no problem getting to 40 points.

Teams do not have a guaranteed 48 minutes to figure out their offensive issues and find their rhythm; getting stops will give them more time.

Now, because of how talented these All-Stars are at scoring the ball, these games will likely be close. Still, this should incentivize defense, as it gives a team more breathing room. Teams can secure the win by making it tough for their opponents to score.

But these players like to score baskets. High-level scoring gets you All-Star votes. This could turn into a back-and-forth with no defense like it has been in the past years, as there will be plenty of offensive talent.

O’Neal selected James, Durant, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. He opted to draft more veteran players.

Smith selected Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr, Jalen Williams, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham and Tyler Herro. He focused on younger players, especially those on winning teams.

Barkley selected Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Pascal Siakam, Alperen Sengun, Karl-Anthony Towns and Donovan Mitchell. He selected all of the international all-star players in the draft pool.

This is a mix of the most popular veteran guys, great centers, excellent guards and some of the most exciting young talent in the league.

Six players will be playing in their first All-Star game: Wembanyama, Cunningham, Mobley, Herro, Sengün and Jalen Williams.

Some of these All-Stars are excellent defenders. Wembanyama is currently first in the league in blocks per game and Davis is fourth. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams are top-10 in steals per game.

This, the youth and the talent this year features should bring energy, effort and defense to the game. It should help that these teams put older, younger and international players against each other.

However, it would be better to add a voting process where people vote for the best defensive players in the league, as the game will be missing most of the league leaders in steals per game.

Overall, I would advise NBA fans to be optimistic yet wary of this year’s All-Star game performance. After all, if it has not changed by now, it may take a lot more alterations.

Related stories:

Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories, delivered to your inbox every Monday.