NBA announces changes to All-Star Game format

The NBA announced drastic changes to the All-Star Game format on Tuesday. No longer will the East take on the West in the NBA’s mid-season exhibition game. There will be two captains that draft their teams from a pool of 24 players, 12 from each conference. The two players with the most fan votes from each conference will be named captains.

The process of selecting the 24 All-Stars will not change from last season. Five starters from each conference will be selected from a combination votes from fans(50%), current players(25%), and basketball media(25%). The league’s head coaches will select the 14 remaining reserves.

TNT will announce the All-Star game starters and captains on January 18th, and the reserves on January 23rd. Specific details about the draft will be announced at a later date, and teams will be playing for charity. Each team will choose a Los Angeles-area charity to donate proceeds to, since the game will be played in LA on February 18th.

Selecting the coaches for the All-Star game is still the same. Whatever coach has the best record two weeks before the All-Star break will earn the spot. Since Brad Stevens and Steve Kerr were coaches last year, they are ineligible for this season. Each coach will lead the team with the captain from their respective conferences, so no, you can’t draft the coaches.

This is an interesting development for an event that has become a bit repetitive. With all the drama revolving around certain players from Westbrook-Durant to Kyrie Irving and LeBron James this season, having the players with the most votes adds a fun element to All-Star weekend. There’s no way James would pick Irving right? We’ll have to wait and see.