The NBA might change the All-Star game format once again. But this time, instead of doing something new, the league is considering going back to basics.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith that the East vs. West format could make its return for the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
“We’re looking at some potential changes in format in Indianapolis this year,” Silver said. “Maybe a return to something more traditional in terms of how the teams are presented. We went to sort of this captain and draft notion, but clearly historically it was East vs. West. So that’s maybe something we are looking at.”
The NBA All-Star Game traditionally featured a showdown between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference since its inception in 1951. However, in an attempt to make the game more interesting, the league switched to a draft format in 2017.
Under the new format, two players with the most All-Star votes were named captains of their respective teams. The captains would then select their team via draft from a pool of All-Star starters and reserves.
While the change was initially popular with NBA fans because of the draft, it still didn’t lead to more competitive games like the league hoped for. That might be the reason why the idea of conference rivalry is suddenly appealing again.
