The NBA realizes that the All-Star Game is not much of a spectacle, and apparently the league is looking into ways to potentially change it.
The league is considering doing away with the current player draft and returning to the former Eastern Conference-Western Conference format, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The idea is one the league is considering to try to make the game more competitive going forward.
The NBA is considering changing the All-Star Game format from the current Player Draft to Eastern vs. Western conference, among other concepts, sources tell me and @MikeVorkunov. It has been topic of discussion at recent Board of Governor and GM meetings after this year’s ASG.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 19, 2023
The All-Star draft has made for some funny moments, but it hasn’t exactly made the game better. The 2023 edition was widely panned, with even some of the involved players offering a rather scathing assessment of the quality of play.
It is not really clear how returning to conference-based rosters would actually move the league closer to its goal of a more contested game. It might not hurt, but it probably wouldn’t be enough by itself.
