After years of tweaking the All-Star formula, the NBA has announced a return to long-standing tradition for the 2023-24 season. Instead of implementing a live player voting system, and choosing captains based on the highest vote-getters, the league will revert back to the standard East vs. West format starting this season.
The NBA will return to East vs. West format for the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 25, 2023
The All-Star game has grown increasingly controversial over the years for various reasons. At the top of the list of dissent was the entire team-building process, which involved players hand-picking their teammates for the game. While the process did lead to some memorable and highly comedic moments, there were those who felt that there was something missing by not having the typical East vs. West matchup, which had been normal for decades leading up to the modern-day.
The actual game itself has also seen various adjustments over the years, including a quarter-by-quarter score count that decided the fate of various financial donations. This year, it seems, the league has decided to abandon that approach and the response online was pretty one-sided, as most fans celebrated the welcome return of the East vs. West format.
NBA Fans Are Happy With Latest All-Star Announcement
It’s hard to say for sure what prompted the big change, but it’s possible that the NBA has been listening to the fans on this issue. With All-Star weekend as a whole growing more controversial every year, the only way for the league to win back over the ones they lost was by bringing back a fan-favorite tradition. Clearly, they made the right move here as the reaction among the fans and social media users was overwhelming support.
Bout time pic.twitter.com/GksDiF4CIz
— Omar (@KingBacca22x) October 25, 2023
Of course, since the NBA is bringing back the classic East vs. West battles, some fans are making the case for the league to incorporate team-worn jerseys for the game itself. While no word yet has been passed on what the players will wear, there is a world where the league could just have them wear their own jerseys.
Now let them wear their own jerseys again
— 5x (@Tr3yFiv5) October 25, 2023
While there is a sense of sadness to see the end of All-Star drafts and team captains, there is hope that the updated format will encourage more competitiveness during the event, which has been sorely lacking over the past few years. If the players can get behind the Conference rivalries, it could get them to play with more intensity for the game itself.
https://twitter.com/HoYouFatWrld/status/1717279752111685944
Analyzing The East Vs. West Matchup
So, with the matchup set for this season’s All-Star game, what can we expect for the actual main event? Players like Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry are shoe-ins to represent the West this season and we may see some young guys like Zion Williamson and Devin Booker also make the cut. This year, just like it has been for most of NBA history, the West is considered stronger than the East overall, and fans are expecting that to be reflected in the final score of the All-Star game.
On the other side, top superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum will no doubt be the top guys in the East, but it remains to be seen how the rest of the roster will be filled out. For now, all we can say for certain is that this year’s All-Star game promises to be one for the ages as fans from all over the world welcome a return to form.
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