The NBA All-Star Game will be played as a tournament this season, as the league announced Tuesday that it had finalized plans to change the format of the next mid-season classic in San Francisco.
And the score should certainly be lower. Much, much lower.
This season, the tournament will include four teams and three matches will be played on the same evening. There will be three rosters of eight star players and the fourth will be made up of the winners of the “Rising Stars” challenge, which features first and second year players.
The winning team of all matches will be the first to score 40 points.
The tournament will take place on February 16 at the home of the Golden State Warriors. The Rising Stars Challenge will be held on February 14 to kick off the festivities.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had wanted a more competitive event for some time. The move comes after the teams combined for a record 397 points (211-186) at last season’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
Both teams attempted 289 shots in this game, 94% of them from the floor or beyond the three-point line.
There have recently been other changes to the All-Star Game format. After the first 66 games took place in a traditional format, namely the Eastern Association against the Western Association and with four 12-minute quarters, the NBA moved to a format with captains who selected the players for their team.
LeBron James has served as captain six times. Giannis Antetokounmpo has filled this role on three occasions, Kevin Durant twice and Stephen Curry only once.
In four years in which there were captains, the All-Star games were decided with a projected score, ensuring the game ended with a field goal. Time ran out in the fourth quarter and the team leading after three quarters had to score 24 more points. The number 24 referred to the last number worn by Kobe Bryant.
Format you vote
Voting for the All-Star Game begins and the format remains unchanged.
Fans, who can vote until January 20, can vote daily for three infield players and two outfield players for the two associations.
It will be part of a weighted formula — 50% fan votes, 25% media panel votes, 25% current player votes — to determine the 10 players who will be designated as “starters.” NBA head coaches will choose the 14 players designated as “reserves.”
Those titles won’t matter much on game night, however, as there will be a total of 15 starters – five for each of the three teams – and only nine reserve players.
How will the teams be chosen?
Analysts and former NBA players Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will draft on February 6, along with the group of 24 All-Star players. The teams will be named after an analyst.
The Rising Stars Challenge winners who will advance to the All-Star Game tournament will be represented by former WNBA player Candace Parker.
Coaching staff
The coaching staffs of the teams with the best record in the Eastern and Western Conference will advance to the All-Star Game. However, it cannot be the personnel of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves this year, since they were present during the last game.
The East and West head coaches will lead one tournament team each. An assistant coach will be at the helm of each of the other two teams.
Scholarships
The All-Star Game prize pool is US$1.8 million.
Each player on the champion team will receive $125,000, each player on the runner-up team will receive $50,000, and players on teams eliminated in the semifinals will each receive $25,000.
