While NBA ratings are starting to sink, the league is trying to adjust quickly. All-star ratings continue to fall and the NBA needs to make a serious change.
The league tried implementing a bracket-style tournament in 2025 but it changed nothing. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo shared his thoughts on what the NBA can do to boost ratings. The two-time league MVP said it should be Team USA vs. Team World.
Would the NBA all-star game ever be Team USA vs. Team World?
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s suggestion to improve the NBA All-Star Game:
• Team USA vs. Team World
• Rotate the host city between the United States and other parts of the world pic.twitter.com/B5N1VsPIrg— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 17, 2025
Over the last 25 years, the NBA has grown globally. That’s opened the door for players around the country to dream about making it to the NBA. Some of the top talent in the NBA is European. This includes Giannis Antetokounpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama. Three of the six players mentioned above have won at least one league MVP.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favorite to win in 2024-25 by a significant margin. The last six MVP awards have gone to European stars. In SGA wins in 2024-25, it would be seven straight won by a European player. International talent has caught up to the best players in the USA. We’ve seen this in the last two Olympics. Team USA is no longer blowing teams out like they had in the past.
Imagine if all the international all-stars got to play on the same team. That would be a deadly starting lineup for Team World. It would feature players like Luka Doncic, Shai Gilegous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic. The shortest player in their starting lineup would be SGA at six-foot-six. Facing all the Europeans on one combined team could challenge the USA. Some of the American top players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant are on the tail end of their careers. Would Adam Silver ever consider a Team USA vs. Team World matchup?
