This past NBA All-Star Game was the most widely criticized showcase in the league’s history. Nuggets Head coach Michael Malone called it “the worst game of basketball ever played”, and the ratings reflected his opinion.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown thought “it wasn’t basketball”, and continued by stating: “I don’t know how much notoriety you’d want to get from this. It was just a glorified layup line.”
THE TWO PROBLEMS THAT MAKE THE GAME NOT WORK
1 – Fans do not find the exhibition entertaining anymore because of the lack of effort put in by the players. The excuse for the decreased effort lies in the risk of injury. The players’ worst nightmare is ending their season while playing a game that means nothing to their team. That being said, while fear of injury is understandable, the level of effort is so minimal that it has become laughable.
2 – An absence of a possible increase in reputation for the players. NBA All-Star weekends in the past showcased the best players, competing to prove who was the greatest at specific areas of the game. Form Jordan dunking from the free throw line, to Bird winning the three point contest without taking off his warmup jacket, the weekend used to be littered with meaningful highlights. Now, the best shooters and the most ferocious dunkers don’t even compete in the three point and dunk contests, and highlights are left to uncontested half court shots in an effortless game.
Stephen A. Smith had a great take on this:
It’s not only LeBron though. Would you believe me if I told you that the guy regarded as the greatest shooter of all time hasn’t competed in the three point contest in the past four years? That’s right, Steph hasn’t proved his worth at All-Star weekend since the 2018/19 three point contest, and I think that is a testament to how the players value the weekend and it’s awards.
THE SOLUTION: ONE-ON-ONE POSITIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Imagine this: five separate four-man brackets to decide who is the best center, power forward, small forward, shooting guard, and point guard. Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “being the best one-on-one doesn’t mean you’re the best player at your position! What about things like passing, off ball movement, and other intangibles???”
My answer: stop over analyzing, and take a look at some of these electric possible future matchups for each position.
BEST MATCHUP FOR POWER FORWARDS – ZION VS GIANNIS
Pardon my french, but I’d pay a shit ton of money to see this go down. This is the type of matchup that could completely fix the drop off in ratings that the NBA experienced during the All-Star game this year. I could guarantee that more people would pay to watch this one-on-one go down than there were viewers for the game this year.
BEST MATCHUP FOR SMALL FORWARDS – LEBRON VS KD
I mean come on…for how many years have we as fans been asking for this exact matchup? If you could bet on this game it would be a hay day for sports books everywhere. And how about whoever loses finally caves and shaves their head? Now that, my friends, would bring out some serious competitiveness in each of these legends.
BEST MATCHUP FROM THE CENTERS – JOKIC VS EMBIID
This would be a box office showing of big bodies going to work in the post. I can envision the fadeaways over absurdly large and outstretched arms, hard nosed defense, and some unbelievable trash talk.
BEST MATCHUP FOR SHOOTING GUARDS – LUKA VS DBOOK
This is the only position where I see a clear favorite to win. I don’t think any shooting guard is beating Luka, but if anybody has a chance it’s Devin Booker. Still though, the other matchups in this category would be awesome, with players like Jaylen Brown, Donavan Mitchell, and Anthony Edwards in the mix.
BEST MATCHUP FOR POINT GUARDS – ANY COMBO OF JA, CURRY, AND KYRIE
I do not care who takes the fourth slot on this bracket, but a matchup between any of these three would be must watch television. Ja and Kyrie would be the most electrifying, but a rematch of the 2016 finals between Irving and Curry would be outrageous.
HOW THIS SOLVES THE NBA’S PROBLEMS
This would easily solve the problem the NBA faces with competitiveness and effort. None of the guys I listed above would ever let the others beat them straight up on national tv. These matches would be the most anticipated event each year, easily boosting the viewership and ratings to a whole new level.
As for injuries, the risk of an injury while playing one-on-one is drastically smaller than when there are eight other players on the court. This would allow players to feel comfortable enough to compete and give it their all.
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts or any other ideas you may have for all state weekend down below!