The popular weekend will undergo an exciting change this year…
The NBA has officially revealed a major acceleration in its star game, confirming that the event will return to the “United States vs. the country format” while introducing a three-team setup involving eight players each.
Two of those teams will represent American players, while the third is made up entirely of international stars.
While the basics of the selection process remain the same, with fans, players, and members of the media voting for starters and coaches selecting victims, a few key changes have been made.
Most notably, time-based visualization has been completely expanded.
Previously, the starting line was made up of two backcourts and three frontcourt players, while the end zones followed the same structure with two wild cards.
Under the new system, five ballots will start, regardless of position, while the next seven players will serve as reserves, and without a base.
To address the potential imbalance between American and international players, the league introduced safeguards. If the Final 24-Player pool does not naturally produce 16 Americans and international players, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will step in to add more players to reach that minimum.
For example, if the poll shows 14 Americans and 10 countries, silver adds two more Americans. On the other hand, if there are 18 Americans and internationals, two international players will be allocated to balance the numbers.
A new partnership and time
The All-Star Game will also be on NBC, which picked up the broadcast rights this year as part of the NBA Media Deal.
The league and communications and the hope that the agreed format will add joy to the event that in recent years has struggled to capture the size of the player and the involvement of the fans.
NBC will include star-studded ceremonies throughout its Winter Olympics coverage in February.
Because of this, the tip-off has been moved to its beginning at 5 o’clock:
Format and gameplay changes
This year’s event will feature a new competition structure. Instead of two teams playing the traditional four quarters, the All-Star game will have four 12-minute periods played in a different structure.
The first three places will be a round robin format, with each of these three teams playing two short games. The “fourth” final will feature the top two teams from that round robin division competing for the championship. If all three teams finish with the same records, the difference in points will determine the authors.
The all-star weekend will take place in Los Angeles at the Intuit DOME, the new home of the clips, and has been set to start on Friday, February 13.
