Should the NBA add to All-Star Weekend?
With the NBA All-Star weekend around the corner, the NBA should consider adding a one-versus-one (1v1) tournament into the weekend rotation.
Over the past couple of years, I have felt more and more disinterested in All-Star weekend, and it's not just me. Last year's All-Star game had a viewership of just under 6 million, which is the first time ever in the history of the NBA. The NBA All-Star game also hasn't reached over eight million viewers since 2013. From 1990 to 2003, only one All-Star game had less than 10 million viewers. The All-Star game has been slowly falling off for a while, but why?
The skills challenge has always been a bit boring and could easily be replaced. Likewise, the dunk contest has gone stale, and it makes it even worse due to the judges continuing to give participants 9s or 10s on very basic dunks that took them multiple attempts.
The All-Star game has also gone downhill a bit. I enjoy how they changed the scoring, which made the end of the game very exciting. However, watching the whole 48 minutes is boring due to the lack of defense. It's pretty much just an in-game shoot-around and dunk contest. The fans miss the competitiveness between the best players in the world. Sadly we only get to see that at the end of a very close game.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
So how could the NBA fix its viewership problems and get fans more engaged? A 1v1 tournament could spark a lot of interest in the sports world.
You hear stories of NBA players playing each other in practice, behind closed doors, but you never get to see it. The fans could vote for their favorite players, just like in the All-Star game. It could be a tournament with a bracket similar to the playoffs. Each game is to 11, you score by ones and twos, you must win by two, and it's single game elimination.
The NBA would have to figure out how to seed each player, but it should be relatively easy. It could be randomized to make it fair for everyone.
NBC Sports
Who wouldn't want to see a matchup of LeBron vs. Durant, Curry vs. Kyrie, Anthony Davis vs. Giannis, etc.? For years, I've seen NBA fans asking for a 1v1 tournament during the All-Star games, and I think it's time to start considering it.
