The NBA All-Star Game always featured the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference stars. Ahead of the 2018 All-Star Game, the league implemented a draft where captains would choose who they wanted on their team. This year, the league is reverting back to their old ways after speculation that changes were coming.

On Wednesday, commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis, stating that the Eastern Conference will once again face off against the Western Conference in the 73rd NBA All-Star Game.

As far as what this means for the format of the All-Star Game itself, the league has decided to stop tinkering with the flow of the game. This means that the game will be played as it normally is with four 12-minutes quarters and no target score for teams to reach in the final quarter of play.

Even though there is no unlimited fourth quarter and no set score that teams will need to reach, the league is still keeping the idea of the East and West All-Star competing for charity. This means that the two teams will compete each quarter for a charitable donation of their choosing.

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Whereas the last few years have featured an All-Star Draft, that will no longer be the case in 2024. Two captains from each conference will be named and they will be amongst the 12 All-Stars selected from both the Eastern and Western Conferences. The captains will be the two players who receive the most votes in the respective conferences.

Indianapolis was supposed to host the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, but the pandemic got in the way of the city hosting the festivities. This will mark the first time the NBA will host All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis since 1985.

“We thought it was time, since we were coming back to such a traditional market, that we were going to return to the classic format for our All-Star Game,” Silver stated in his remarks on Wednesday. “This year we will be featuring, as we had historically, it will be East vs. West with the return to the four quarters format we are all used to… The theme this year is ‘back to basketball.'”

Looking ahead, the Golden State Warriors and the city of San Francisco are set to host the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, as the Boston Celtics are hoping to land a bid to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.