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It has been a little over a week since the NBA all-star weekend which was underwhelming in many ways that led to several conversations about what to do to make one of the important times during the NBA season more interesting than it has been in recent years. I think we all can agree that the players actually caring about the game, events, and their star power is the foundation to any improvements because it is extremely obvious to the point of embarrassing when it comes to fans/viewers watching, so here are some ideas I have that could hopefully fix the NBA all-star weekend.
The Dunk Contest
Well, let’s start with the Dunk Contest that for many was another let down and based on the judging having G-league star Mac McClung win back-to-back contests was not the desired result, so what could fix the dunk contest? How about letting outsiders be a part of the contest, by outsiders I mean guys who do dunk competitions but are not NBA or G-League teams. This is probably a long shot to happen but if you want the famed main event of all-star Saturday night to be fun and potentially viral why not let dunker Jordan Kilganon enter the contest and potentially show up the NBA guys enough to maybe embarrass the stars to hopefully join in.
Time to Switch it up?
As a basketball traditionalist, the idea of switching the final event from the dunk contest to the three-point contest I have pushed against every time it was mentioned until this year. Maybe it is time to keep up with the times and try anything to revive the weekend, it may be time to switch the events having the three-point contest go on last in order to have Saturday night end on happier and exciting notes than they have recently.
Ladies Night!
Staying on the topic of the three-point contest, after then one on one shootout between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu which was great, I feel it is time to include some of best shooters in the WNBA for the three-point contest. The WNBA is in the offseason come February and have their own all-star game and events but if there’s a chance for a successful cross promotion opportunity that would be a hit for basketball in general, then it’s the three-point contest. We can figure out the rules, regulations, etc. Later but this idea hopefully becomes a real thing for next year in San Francisco.
USA vs. The World
Lastly we come to the actual all-star game. They have tried every format change to make it competitive, but perhaps some good old fashion shame will fix this issue from a lot the stars by going to the USA vs. The World theme for the all-star game and rising stars challenge. With basketball being a global sport and growing so much internationally than the USA vs. The World seems right to do or at least try.
Instead of waiting for the FIBA world cup or the Olympics for this to happen, let’s do it at the all-star game and see if the American NBA stars can be competitive again for this event or be embarrassed on a big stage which yes could do more harm than good but at this point what do you have to lose by trying this and the other ideas out.