How Do We Fix The NBA All-Star Game?

It was clear that Adam Silver wasn't thrilled by the 397-point NBA All-Star Game that took place in Indianapolis last weekend. "And to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points. Well...congratulations," the commissioner said without any of his usual boyish charisma. The league has been trying for years to increase the competitiveness of the All-Star game but once again had to watch a game with no defense and no energy from the gathered spectators.

The All-Star Game dates back to 1951 but appears to be on its last legs. So what can the NBA do before the 2025 All-Star Game in San Francisco?

Make The All-Star Game An End Of Season Event In Las Vegas

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Players have become increasingly open about their lack of desire to try during the All-Star Game, but can you blame them? A midseason All-Star Game is completely at odds with the NBA's new push to keep players on the court longer during the season. For players all being pressed to play at least 65 regular season games, why would they try in an extra game they have no control over their participation in?

This is easily fixed by moving the All-Star Game to the end of the season, like the NFL's Pro Bowl. While you might have to trade off not having All-Stars from, say, teams in the NBA Finals, you immediately remove the worry of players holding back to avoid a midseason injury.

Similarly, again in the vein of the Pro Bowl, the location of the All-Star Game should be fixed. While it's nice to move the game around to show love to every NBA franchise, not all NBA franchises are built equal. All-Star Weekend in Miami has much more appeal than All-Star Weekend in Oklahoma City or Indianapolis. And once again, there is an easy fix for this - Las Vegas. While it's not an NBA city (yet), it's clear that the league wants to do more with Sin City. Why not make it the home of the All-Star Game and reassess when the league puts a franchise there?

Provide Bigger All-Star Game Incentives To Players

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Most players have some sort of All-Star incentive written into their contract. But all that means is they get paid a bonus for being named an All-Star. And they get paid that regardless of how they play in the game. Meanwhile, players receive $25K from the league for participating in the All-Star Game and an additional $75K if they are on the winning team. Here's the problem - to the people being named All-Stars, $100K is not a lot of money.

It's hard to put a number on financial incentives for multi-millionaires. But it definitely needs to be more. Let's say $50K for showing up and another $50K for winning. But, if the goal is to make the game more competitive, then you have to incentivize play on both sides of the ball. Instead of simply announcing an MVP, you choose an offensive and defensive MVP who gets their money doubled. That way, you now have players competing for the chance to make up to $200K for the game.

Bring Back the All-Star Draft

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Another problem that the league has is tone. There is a very apparent dissonance during All-Star weekend. On the one hand, you have the levity of the Celebrity Game and the Dunk Contest. On the other, you have the very serious "treat this like it's the Finals" vibe of the All-Star Game itself. Because at the end of the day, the NBA wants the All-Star Game to feel like a showdown between the very best of its two Conferences. Except, when fans control the voting, the teams are not going to represent the very best of the two Conferences. Trae Young is absolutely balling out this season and yet, he wasn't even an All-Star Reserve. It took Joel Embiid getting injured and Bam Adebayo being named a starter to get Young at the All-Star Game.

With all this in mind - bring back the All-Star Draft. Let the top vote-getters overall build their dream rosters from a pool of 24 All-Stars (12 per conference, 12 per frontcourt/backcourt). That way, players may feel incentivized to play a better game because they are actively in control of who they play alongside, rather than being told "This is your team, play your best" by the league.

How Would You Fix The All-Star Game?

However, what changes would you make to the All-Star Game to make it a more enjoyable experience? Let us know in the comments.