The NBA has been doing their best for years to reduce the value for the All-Star weekend, especially since the ceremony in the assessments has fallen. The competition has tried to breathe new life into this one -off competition by changing the format and entertainment, but it seems to only negatively influence them.
The celebrations last February seemed to be the most ridiculous so far, because they include Kevin Hart as a host, but his comments during the game seemed to be more of an unwanted distraction than a comic relief. They also changed the format in a four-team tournament with Non-Allstars, which was hardly watched on television.
Since this year’s edition has received unprecedented criticism, Adam Silver decided to tackle it during a recent press conference of the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting in New York. The Commissioner admitted that their efforts for All-Star have been a failure.
“Sitting there, I thought this was a little better,” the League director told reporters last week. “But it was a miss. We are not in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of and that our players can be proud of.”
Most agree that the problem is the lack of aggression and competitiveness. “I think we are selling competition at the height,” Silver said. “And I think our players acknowledge that they don’t put their best foot ahead and there is a feeling that they don’t play all kinds in an all-star game.”
The NBA Commissioner acknowledged that it is entertainment. “We are both a sport and an entertainment brand,” Silver continued. “We are again calibrated for this year’s All-Star game in San Francisco around more an entertainment product and do not think it worked.
“The breaks were too long. And I understand. It was an opportunity to celebrate TNT because they would have their last All-Star game,” Adam added. “It was well -intentioned. But I think that the long interruption of the game, for example in that last game, has worked for no one. We are a bit back to the drawing table.”
