NBA announces new All-Star game format

Interest around the NBA All-Star game has waned for years. Defense has become non-existent except for the occasional year where players have tried in the last five minutes of the game. Fans have been forced to endure 40-plus minutes of open dunks and guys chucking from behind the arc, things that are not nearly as fun as they sound. The intensity is usually somewhere around that of open gym shootaround.

The league has tried different formats over the years, such as switching from East vs. West to USA vs. The World, having player captains select the teams, or adopting some version of the Elam Ending for each quarter. Now, they’ve announced a new format for the 2025 game set to take place in…