Fixing the NBA All-Stars
There has been a perceptible decline in both the viewership and the spectacle of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Though it is still a huge event placed squarely at a time on the calendar when relatively nothing else is happening, the novelty has worn off. According to numbers released by Sports Media Watch, this year’s edition averaged a combined 2.2 rating and 4.59 million viewers on the two broadcast networks it aired on. Not only is that a great decrease from the 2022 game, (which earned a record-low 3.1 rating and 6.28 million viewers) it establishes a pattern of decline. So what can be done to restore the NBA All-Stars’ luster?
Change back the selection process. The more you place the decisions in the hands of the players, the worse things get. Letting the players choose their mates makes it less challenging and more casual. If they are professionals, then they will play with whomever the league or the fans tell them to play with. Make the game more competitive. If not, the game itself has just become a glorified pick-up game, and nobody wins.
Restore exclusivity. Back in the day, there was the All-Star Game, the dunk contest and the three-point shootout. That was it. But look back and note how indelible those standout moments were. Now, there are too many contrived events, celebrity games and whatnot. It has watered down the exclusivity of the All-Stars, and made it tedious and tiresome.
Compel the stars to dunk. Some US media are blaming the league’s best players for the decline of the centerpiece Slam Dunk contest. This has been a long-standing problem. Almost a quarter of a century ago, the league tried to replace the dunk contest with its own manufactured NBA 2Ball contest. It is understandable that some of these egodriven players refuse to risk being embarrassed by lesser-known players, but this is for the fans, the lifeblood of the entire enterprise. Make the star players join the challenges. That will bring the fans back.
Fly in foreign fans. It would be a disservice to overseas fans not to acknowledge their importance in the popularity of the NBA. Even if they play the odd overseas game now and do summer events abroad, foreign spectators are still at arm’s length. The league should stage a promotion wherein a certain number of foreign fans can win an NBA All-Star experience. Imagine the stories they’ll tell, and how that would fire up the overseas market even more.
The only way to make the NBA All-Star event more special is to keep it simple, and involve the fans beyond merely voting remotely for their favorite players.