The 75th NBA All-Star Game, scheduled for next February, will introduce a three-team round robin tournament featuring two teams of United States players and a World squad of international talent, the league
announced on Tuesday.
The event, consisting of four 12-minute games, will be hosted by the Los Angeles Clippers on February 15 at the Intuit Dome, which opened last year in Inglewood, California.
The format will have two teams playing in the first game. The third team will then play the winner of this game, followed by a match against the loser. The championship game will feature the top two teams based on their records or point differential.
Each team will have at least eight players, meaning the All-Star selection process will still involve choosing 24 players – 12 from each conference – regardless of position.
“I actually love it,” retired NBA star Carmelo Anthony said. “The players are used to positionless basketball. You can see five guards on the court. I love the idea of the best players getting chosen in the All-Star Game.
“It brings excitement. That brings a lot of culture back to the game. All-Star should be the best players no matter what position.”
Retired NBA star Vince Carter also commented on the challenge this poses for skilled big men, given the prevalence of multi-skilled guards. “”Now that big man sits there and it’s a lot harder,” Carter said. “Harder for a big man to have an opportunity because there are a lot of great guards in the league.
“It’s going to be tough for that big man to crack that 24.”
How NBA All-Star Teams Will Be Picked?
Five players from each conference will be honoured as “starters” based on votes—50% from fans, 25% from players, and 25% from a media panel. Seven reserve players from each conference will be selected by NBA head coaches.
The process for assigning U.S. players to either of the two teams will be decided later. If the All-Star voting does not yield 16 U.S. players and 8 international players, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will choose additional All-Stars to meet the minimum, potentially giving one roster more than eight players.
Last year’s NBA All-Star Game included international players such as Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP from Canada; French center Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio; Serbian center Nikola Jokic of Denver; Greek center Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee; Indiana’s forward Pascal Siakam; and Turkish center Alperen Sengun of Houston.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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