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The NBA All-Star Game has had criticism from everywhere. After the league changed the format, Bill Simmons presented an interesting format on his podcast that he believed would fix the game.
“If you make home-court the prize and you go to a 40-minute game, you go FIBA rules, so it moves faster and feels different,” Simmons said. “You have 8-man teams from the East and the West. So we pick 24 All-Stars total, but only 16 of them are in the big game on Sunday with home-court advantage at stake.”
“Here’s the catch: only players from Top 5 Seeds can be in the All-Star Game. So, everyone who is in the Sunday game is actually going to care about home-court advantage. I have 7 on each side plus an 8th person who is a commissioner pick.”
One of the interesting components is how Simmons incorporates FIBA rules into the game. After all, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has explained he would incorporate some of those rules. One of those was a 40-minute game. However, it hasn't been received too well by others around the league.
The NBA is the only league with a 48-minute format. Players wouldn't likely want to change the format.
Bill Simmons All-Star Game format might not be well-received
While Simmons's idea is simply an idea, it's a start. The league tried a new format with the in-game tournament. However, it didn't go too well. For example, Victor Wembanyama talked about his honest thoughts about the NBA All-Star Game format. While his reaction was neither positive nor negative, it showed that the league had some work to do.
Still, Simmons added to his point about expanding the game.
“You take the remaining All-Stars, there’s eight,” Simmons said. “Wemby, Siakam, Trae Young, Garland, Dame, Anthony Edwards, AD, and Herro, and you have them play the eight best future guys. Castle, the Thompsons, the first and second-year guys. They play those guys. $2 million prize, $250K per person, if you win. 8 vs. 8 the same thing, 40-minute games.”
Despite the changes, it likely won't happen overnight. However, you never know. Not many believed that the NBA would add a tournament to the game. Either way, nothing is off-limits at this point. With Silver's pro-FIBA rules and the NBA looking to change the All-Star Game, it could be a recipe for Simmons's idea.
At the end of the day, the league has plenty of work to do before conceptualizing another idea. However, they might take his word and implement some of those rules.
