The NBA is considering making another change to the All-Star Game format. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that the league might scrap the current draft format and go back to Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference matchup once again.

Charania reports that the format change, among other concepts, was a point of discussion during the league’s recent Board of Governor and general manager meetings.

The league and NBA Players’ Association agreed to make changes to the All-Star Game in their most recent collective bargaining agreement. Reportedly, the changes might be implemented as soon as the 2023-24 season. The 2024 NBA All-Star weekend is set to take place in Indianapolis.

The NBA has been looking for ways to make the All-Star game more competitive in recent seasons. It made several changes in recent editions, including organizing a draft in which a player with All-Star fan votes from each conference would serve as a captain and draft a team from a pool of starters and reserves.

The draft concept was used in the last five editions of the All-Star game, seeing Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James serving as a captain in all of them. Prior to that, the league had used the West vs. East format since the inception of the All-Star game in 1951.

The post NBA Considering Changes to All-Star Game Format appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The NBA revealed the reserves for this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta on Tuesday with the Brooklyn Nets’ James Harden, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons, and the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell headlining the list.

The All-Star reserves were selected by the head coaches of the NBA teams. Each coach picked seven All-Stars from the East and seven All-Stars from the West, with the top vote-getters making the cut.

Besides Harden and Simmons, the pool of All-Star reserves from the Eastern Conference also has the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine, the New York Knicks’ Julius Randle, and the Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic.

The Nets’ Kevin Durant was previously selected as the captain of the East, with the Nets’ Kyrie Irving, the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the 76ers’ Joel Embiid taking the starters spots.

In the West, Mitchell will be joined by his Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the LA Clippers’ Paul George, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson.

The Lakers’ LeBron James will captain the West, with Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), and Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors) being in the starters pool as well.

James’ team will be coached by Quin Snyder, whose Utah Jazz is currently first in the Western Conference with a 25-6 record. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Doc Rivers will be the head coach of Durant’s team.

The 2021 All-Star game will take place on March 7th in the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena.

The post James Harden, Ben Simmons, and Donovan Mitchell Among All-Star Reserves appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It appears that this year’s NBA All-Star festivities will go beyond virtual reality despite the coronavirus pandemic.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA and Players Association are closing in on an agreement that would see the 2021 All-Star Game taking place in Atlanta on March 7th. Besides the game between West and East All-Stars, the single-night event will also include skills competitions.

The overall plan for the All-Star game is already in place, but the NBA and players union are currently working out the finer details. This includes safety and health protocols, transportation, and other requirements.

Players that don’t get to be part of the All-Star festivities will be able to travel inside the United States during the break, but won’t be allowed to leave the country. They also need to re-join their teams at least two days before they are scheduled to resume the regular season.

The league and the union are optimistic about the event, although some of the top players in the league already expressed their displeasure with the news. This includes LA Lakers superstar LeBron James, who called the event “a slap in the face” in a chat with reporters on Thursday night.

“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” said James. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.”

The post NBA Plans to Host the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta in March appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The teams for the 2020 NBA All-Star games are set. Team captains Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers made their pick out of the draft pool of All-Star starters and reserves on Thursday night during a televised draft on TNT.

James had the first pick in the draft, and he decided to use it to select his teammate Anthony Davis. Antetokounmpo countered with Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid. For the rest of the starters, James took Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Houston Rockets’ James Harden. Antetokounmpo decided to go with Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam, Boston Celtics’ Kemba Walker, and Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young.

Curiously, we will get the East vs. West Conference matchup despite the NBA’s new format for All-Star game.

James picked up the majority of the Western Conference players in his team, with 76ers’ Ben Simmons, Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, and Indiana Pacers’ Domontas Sabonis being the outliers.

Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, went with the majority of the Eastern Conference All-Stars, picking just Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram from West.

Check out the full draft and rosters below. 

The 2020 NBA All-Star Game will take place in Chicago on February 16th.

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James Make Their 2020 All-Star Game Picks appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After being an NBA All-Star in 2014 and 2015, Portland Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been left out of the NBA All-Star Games ever since. It’s something he expects to happen this time around as well.

“I’ve gotten frustrated just for the fact that it feels like I always got to be the fall guy and every other guy has been deserving,” – Lillard told ESPN. “In the past, the thing has been, ‘All right, my team has been 10 games under .500 or not in the playoffs,’ but every year we’ve found a way to be in the postseason, and this year I think we’re in much better position than we have been in the past two seasons that I didn’t make it. I think I’ve gotten over the emotional part of it the last few times that I didn’t make it. Now I’m kind of like expecting it to go that way, but I feel like I should be there.“

When you look at Lillard’s numbers and the things he brings to the table, there is no doubt he is an NBA All-Star caliber player. He is currently at the ninth spot in the league when it comes to points per game (25.0) and only NBA player alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden to average 25 points, four rebounds and six assists per game. In this season Lillard also became just the fifth player to have four games with nine or more three-pointers made. All of this wasn’t enough for Lillard to get more than 266,519 votes or to be higher ranked than eight spot among the Western Conference guards. When you look at Lillard’s performances, it becomes laughable that rookie Lonzo Ball got 30,000 more votes than Lillard and was a step ahead of him.

While Lillard recognizes that this happens because Los Angeles is a lot bigger market than Portland, he wouldn’t trade his place with Lonzo. In the time when players are joining forces and leaving the teams that drafted them in order to have a better chance to win a championship, Lillard isn’t afraid to double down on his loyalty to the Trail Blazers. His goal is simple; become the best player that ever played there.

“That speaks to me because when you think of the Mavericks, you think of Dirk,” – he said. “You had a lot of people that came through there, but he’s been there. I think what he’s meant to that organization is huge. The same thing with Tim Duncan. He represents the Spurs. That’s the name that comes up. And for the Trail Blazers, I want to be the best Trail Blazer ever. And when people talk about this franchise, I want them to talk about me. I want to be what people think of first when they talk about the Portland Trail Blazers.“

The post Portland Blazers’ Damian Lillard “Frustrated” Over NBA All-Star Snubs appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The NBA is considering making another change to the All-Star Game format. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that the league might scrap the current draft format and go back to Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference matchup once again.

Charania reports that the format change, among other concepts, was a point of discussion during the league’s recent Board of Governor and general manager meetings.

The league and NBA Players’ Association agreed to make changes to the All-Star Game in their most recent collective bargaining agreement. Reportedly, the changes might be implemented as soon as the 2023-24 season. The 2024 NBA All-Star weekend is set to take place in Indianapolis.

The NBA has been looking for ways to make the All-Star game more competitive in recent seasons. It made several changes in recent editions, including organizing a draft in which a player with All-Star fan votes from each conference would serve as a captain and draft a team from a pool of starters and reserves.

The draft concept was used in the last five editions of the All-Star game, seeing Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James serving as a captain in all of them. Prior to that, the league had used the West vs. East format since the inception of the All-Star game in 1951.

The post NBA Considering Changes to All-Star Game Format appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The NBA revealed the reserves for this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta on Tuesday with the Brooklyn Nets’ James Harden, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons, and the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell headlining the list.

The All-Star reserves were selected by the head coaches of the NBA teams. Each coach picked seven All-Stars from the East and seven All-Stars from the West, with the top vote-getters making the cut.

Besides Harden and Simmons, the pool of All-Star reserves from the Eastern Conference also has the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine, the New York Knicks’ Julius Randle, and the Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic.

The Nets’ Kevin Durant was previously selected as the captain of the East, with the Nets’ Kyrie Irving, the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the 76ers’ Joel Embiid taking the starters spots.

In the West, Mitchell will be joined by his Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the LA Clippers’ Paul George, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson.

The Lakers’ LeBron James will captain the West, with Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), and Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors) being in the starters pool as well.

James’ team will be coached by Quin Snyder, whose Utah Jazz is currently first in the Western Conference with a 25-6 record. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Doc Rivers will be the head coach of Durant’s team.

The 2021 All-Star game will take place on March 7th in the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena.

The post James Harden, Ben Simmons, and Donovan Mitchell Among All-Star Reserves appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It appears that this year’s NBA All-Star festivities will go beyond virtual reality despite the coronavirus pandemic.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA and Players Association are closing in on an agreement that would see the 2021 All-Star Game taking place in Atlanta on March 7th. Besides the game between West and East All-Stars, the single-night event will also include skills competitions.

The overall plan for the All-Star game is already in place, but the NBA and players union are currently working out the finer details. This includes safety and health protocols, transportation, and other requirements.

Players that don’t get to be part of the All-Star festivities will be able to travel inside the United States during the break, but won’t be allowed to leave the country. They also need to re-join their teams at least two days before they are scheduled to resume the regular season.

The league and the union are optimistic about the event, although some of the top players in the league already expressed their displeasure with the news. This includes LA Lakers superstar LeBron James, who called the event “a slap in the face” in a chat with reporters on Thursday night.

“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” said James. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.”

The post NBA Plans to Host the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta in March appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The teams for the 2020 NBA All-Star games are set. Team captains Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers made their pick out of the draft pool of All-Star starters and reserves on Thursday night during a televised draft on TNT.

James had the first pick in the draft, and he decided to use it to select his teammate Anthony Davis. Antetokounmpo countered with Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid. For the rest of the starters, James took Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Houston Rockets’ James Harden. Antetokounmpo decided to go with Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam, Boston Celtics’ Kemba Walker, and Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young.

Curiously, we will get the East vs. West Conference matchup despite the NBA’s new format for All-Star game.

James picked up the majority of the Western Conference players in his team, with 76ers’ Ben Simmons, Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, and Indiana Pacers’ Domontas Sabonis being the outliers.

Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, went with the majority of the Eastern Conference All-Stars, picking just Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram from West.

Check out the full draft and rosters below. 

The 2020 NBA All-Star Game will take place in Chicago on February 16th.

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James Make Their 2020 All-Star Game Picks appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After being an NBA All-Star in 2014 and 2015, Portland Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been left out of the NBA All-Star Games ever since. It’s something he expects to happen this time around as well.

“I’ve gotten frustrated just for the fact that it feels like I always got to be the fall guy and every other guy has been deserving,” – Lillard told ESPN. “In the past, the thing has been, ‘All right, my team has been 10 games under .500 or not in the playoffs,’ but every year we’ve found a way to be in the postseason, and this year I think we’re in much better position than we have been in the past two seasons that I didn’t make it. I think I’ve gotten over the emotional part of it the last few times that I didn’t make it. Now I’m kind of like expecting it to go that way, but I feel like I should be there.“

When you look at Lillard’s numbers and the things he brings to the table, there is no doubt he is an NBA All-Star caliber player. He is currently at the ninth spot in the league when it comes to points per game (25.0) and only NBA player alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden to average 25 points, four rebounds and six assists per game. In this season Lillard also became just the fifth player to have four games with nine or more three-pointers made. All of this wasn’t enough for Lillard to get more than 266,519 votes or to be higher ranked than eight spot among the Western Conference guards. When you look at Lillard’s performances, it becomes laughable that rookie Lonzo Ball got 30,000 more votes than Lillard and was a step ahead of him.

While Lillard recognizes that this happens because Los Angeles is a lot bigger market than Portland, he wouldn’t trade his place with Lonzo. In the time when players are joining forces and leaving the teams that drafted them in order to have a better chance to win a championship, Lillard isn’t afraid to double down on his loyalty to the Trail Blazers. His goal is simple; become the best player that ever played there.

“That speaks to me because when you think of the Mavericks, you think of Dirk,” – he said. “You had a lot of people that came through there, but he’s been there. I think what he’s meant to that organization is huge. The same thing with Tim Duncan. He represents the Spurs. That’s the name that comes up. And for the Trail Blazers, I want to be the best Trail Blazer ever. And when people talk about this franchise, I want them to talk about me. I want to be what people think of first when they talk about the Portland Trail Blazers.“

The post Portland Blazers’ Damian Lillard “Frustrated” Over NBA All-Star Snubs appeared first on SportzBonanza.