NBA Considering changes for the NBA All-star Game

Appearing on a recent episode of ESPN's "First Take," NBA Commissioner revealed that there are ongoing talks to change the format of the NBA All-Star game.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is considering a return to the East vs. West format for the All-Star game 👀 pic.twitter.com/cmFVbpkrsN— First Take (@FirstTake) October 18, 2023

Current Format

The current format of the All-Star game is that the highest-owed player from either conference is elected as team captains and takes turns picking their teammates from the remaining All-Star selections. This style was introduced for the first time in 2018 in an effort to try and elevate the competitiveness of the All-Star game, which had become stale for several years.


Some of the interesting factors of this style are that you can potentially see teammates play against each other. For example, last year's All-Star game saw lifelong Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on opposite sides. This, along with other inter-conference pairings, makes for exciting viewing as you don't know who will play with whom.


Despite this, Silver hints at returning to the former setup of the All-Star game, where the best stars from the Eastern Conference played against the best stars from the Western Conference.

East vs West

The East vs. West concept is the traditional style that the NBA used for every All-Star game before 2018. For many years, it was incredibly competitive because being limited to playing on your conference's team gave players an "us against them" mentality and made them strive to prove that they played in the better conference.

On top of this, it forced many playoff rivals to compete together. With only one playoff team coming out of either conference for the finals, it meant that for most stars, their playoff rivalries were always among their own conference. One example of this is when Michael Jordan had to play alongside his notorious adversary, Isiah Thomas, in multiple All-Star games throughout the late 1980s including the infamous "Freeze Out" game in 1985.


Team USA vs Team World

With the emergence of international stars entering the NBA, many fans have speculated whether it might be time to try a Team USA vs Team World matchup. For years, the United States dominated the NBA, and with few international players, let alone stars in the league, it was seemingly impossible.

Now, with 2-time MVPs like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, along with a whole host of international talent such as Domantas Sabonis and Shai Gilgeous-alexander, the league feels very much split. With young players like Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama, the current trend looks like it will be here to stay for many more years.

Given that the NBA is still figuring out how to make the All-Star game more competitive, this new format looks like the best option. Representing your nation is one of the greatest honors and would motivate any player to try their absolute hardest. As for Team World, they will be looking to prove that basketball is not just a USA-dominated sport, as it has been for so many years.

With this level of international talent, it's time for the NBA to announce a Team World vs. Team USA challenge at the All-Star Weekend pic.twitter.com/0iRLjQFZaA— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) February 26, 2023

How to fix the NBA All-Star Game:

Make it USA vs Team World.

It's hard to not even try with "USA" on your chest. And Team World will always want to beat USA. pic.twitter.com/eC9hrLJQ2D— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) February 23, 2023

You can see the whole interview below where Adam Silver talks about many NBA and WNBA related topics.