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A World Class Idea

  • Writer: Charlie Teljeur
    Charlie Teljeur
  • Mar 5, 2024
  • 3 min read

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If you’re one of those who doesn’t believe it’s actually possible to have too much of a good thing you obviously didn’t watch the 2024 NBA All Star Game. The final score clocked in at a whopping 211-186. The East beat the West (if you’re actually interested) although to be completely honest, it’s the fans who lost the most.


This opinion would seem to run counterintuitive to what the mid season showcase is supposed to be all about. Fun, games, a veritable fantasy team. Isn’t the whole idea about seeing an actual dream team take to the court? Isn’t this just a video game come to life?





Unfortunately, yes it is. If you’re looking for artificial flavour and a lot of empty calories where very little resembles what you actually love about a sport, the NBA All Star Game (and any professional All Star game for that matter) is the place for you.


All star games by pure definition, are very cool concepts but what few ever stopped to consider is how quickly the fantasy of the spectacle would run head on into the reality of it. No matter how enticing it may seem in the planning stages, the truth of the matter is that the game is entirely meaningless, and because of that, it was only a matter of time before the players realized that as well and played accordingly.


An NBA game averages roughly 40 fouls per game. The 2024 All Star Game had three total. I cite that knowing that fouls are the key to a better game but they do imply more contact, which means more intensity which translates to more competition and isn’t that what makes us watch sports in the first place? We want to see some semblance of competition, otherwise it’s just a meaningless exhibition.





Problem is, so much is literally invested in today’s player that there’s zero incentive to risk anything for a meaningless game, and that isn’t likely to change any time soon.


You can’t force players to care about something they really have no reason to care about but what you can do is enact changes aimed at lighting an athlete’s competitive fire.


This was tried with the Elam Ending in which the game will end when one of the teams reaches a predetermined total. It’s basically the old “the first team to reach X points, wins” playground rules.





This was a great alternative. Given that the entire All Star format is fabricated already, what harm is there in having a visible finish line? Unfortunately this format was scrapped in the most recent event (and it showed). Who’d have thought 397 total points scored could be so boring?


For my money, reinstating The Elam Ending as a permanent is a perfect starting point for a much more watchable All Star "classic". Play with the total however you want but adding a definitive ending like this needs to be etched into the game moving forward.


The second thing you can do is revise who plays who. Conference against conference is a really bad, force fed idea. I mean, who’s ever yelled “GO East!”?





The obvious answer is USA versus The World which, in today’s NBA, is already the massive elephant in the room. The past five NBA MVPs have been non-Americans and there’s a credible argument to be made that the current top player in the league is either from Serbia, Greece or Cameroon.


Adding more fuel to the fire is the fallout from the 2023 FIBA World Cup where Germany defeated Serbia for the title (the USA finished fourth).


American NBA players scoffed at the results, arguing (rather illogically) that only the NBA Champion is the true world champion and that the USA, by and large, still produces the best players in the world (which is probably still accurate).





The point to be made here is that world basketball supremacy is much more of a true debate than it’s ever been, so why not capitalize on it by making USA vs the World, the All Star Game format moving forward?


If you insist on continuing a seemingly meaningless spectacle why not do the smart thing and try and give it some actual meaning?


*****


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