NBA All-Star Weekend is over, and if you’re a die-hard fan, there’s a good chance you caught some or all of the events, from the Rising Stars game Friday to Sunday night’s All-Star Game.
The league celebrated its 75th anniversary with the return of many of the 75 stars from its all-time team, including Oscar Robertson, Julius Erving and other elder statesmen, along with current stars LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
The popularity of the NBA remains strong, and the growing number of players appearing in TV commercials is evidence of its widespread appeal.
But All-Star Weekend itself is in dire need of major repairs, as the ratings no doubt will reflect.
Last year’s viewership of the All-Star Game during the delayed 2021 season was an all-time low of 5.94 million, according to sportsmediawatch.com, so it’s a relatively low bar to reach. Perhaps this year’s game, which included a TBS simulcast with Charles Barkley and the always entertaining “Inside the NBA” crew doing their version of ESPN’s “Manningcast,” will lead to a jump in overall viewership.
But considering the 1993 All-Star Game — which included Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Barkley and rookie Shaquille O’Neal — drew 22.91 million eyeballs to NBC, it’s obvious the game never will come close to garnering those kinds of numbers again.
Still, there should be a way to create more interest. All it would take is a few outside-the-box solutions.
First off, junk everything but the Slam Dunk contest — and start over from scratch.
The Rising Stars game is a nice idea, but not enough of the players are rising stars. For every Trae Young and Ja Morant in the 2021 game in Atlanta, there’s an Eric Paschall and P.J. Washington.
If the league wants to promote its best young talent, leave a spot on the All-Star ballot strictly for rookies and allow two to participate in the main event.
The Skills Challenge this year was confusing, time-consuming and utterly useless. The winners were a trio of Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat out three Antetokounmpo brothers and a trio of rookies. Team Cleveland won when rookie Evan Mobley hit a half-court shot, which isn’t so much a skill as luck.
Here’s a better idea: Have all of the All-Stars shoot five shots from half court. It would take only a few rounds before a champ is unveiled. This would also relieve the monotony of the 3-Point Contest, which was fun when there were only a few outstanding 3-point shooters. Now everyone in the league, except the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan, fancies himself as a 3-point threat.
Next up, fix the Slam Dunk contest, the crown jewel of All-Star Weekend.
It’s no secret the Slam Dunk contest has been devaluated over the years by the reluctance of NBA stars to participate for one reason or another. The days of Jordan versus Dominique Wilkins are long gone. This year’s contest featured Cole Anthony, Obi Toppin, Jalen Green and Juan Toscano-Anderson.
This is like MLB conducting a Home Run Derby featuring Tommy Edman, Hunter Dozier, David Fletcher and Nick Madrigal. Saturday night’s event should’ve been renamed the Slam Miss contest, as there seemed to be more aborted attempts than actual dunks.
Toscano-Anderson, a reserve for the Golden State Warriors, averages only 1.8 field goals per game in 14.5 minutes. Why he was even invited is a mystery. He made it to the final dunk-off against Toppin but was unable to convert on any of his three attempts. Green took forever to convert his first dunk, which led to a priceless reaction shot on TNT of O’Neal watching in horror.
Needless to say, the Slam Dunk contest should be reserved for actual All-Stars. Get a sponsor to provide a $1 million prize for the winner’s favorite charity if that’s what it takes to get better contestants. The 2022 event was about as bad as it gets, and if the NBA doesn’t realize that after all the negative social media reaction, then Commissioner Adam Silver has his shiny, bald head in the sand.
Finally, it’s time to fix the actual All-Star Game, which has been tweaked over the years to the point where it’s now unrecognizable. Several years ago, the NBA ditched the traditional East versus West concept and turned it into a game in which the two leading vote-getters — James and whoever comes in second — pick teams from a pool of players selected by fans, media and players.
It’s still the same no-defense dunk-a-thon interspersed with players shooting 3-pointers from 10 feet beyond the arc, and no one cares who wins because it’s basically just a highlight reel showcasing the stars. But interest wanes after the first quarter, when the dunks get repetitive.
The best way to create interest is to hold a three-on-three tournament with eight teams going head-to-head until one is left standing. The teams would be picked via a pingpong-ball lottery, which means you could have three centers or three point guards on the same team.
Imagine a team with Durant, Morant and DeRozan playing a team with Curry, James and Joel Embiid, with the winner facing a team with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Chris Paul and James. No one would turn the channel.
Years from now, no one will remember if Team LeBron beat Team Durant in the 2022 All-Star Game, much less who played for each team. But they might remember the team of three superstars who beat their peers in a three-on-three tournament.
The NBA has a choice to make: Continue with the status quo and live with the poor ratings, or make changes that are more in line with a YouTube-savvy brand of viewers.
