2024 NBA All Star Game: Why Did the NBA Change the ASG Format Back to East Vs West?

After an action-packed first half of the regular season, all eyes now turn to the 2024 All-Star Weekend that is set to be hosted in Indiana. While the youngsters will entertain fans on Friday’s Rising Stars contest, superstars such as LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will suit up on Sunday for the All-Star Game. This year, instead of the captains picking their teams, the exhibition game will go back to its original West vs East format. And the NBA Commissioner gave the reason behind this switch.

Before the 2023-24 season commenced, Adam Silver announced that the NBA would be turning back to the traditional West vs East format for the All-Star Game. According to Silver, using the traditional concept would be fitting considering that Indianapolis is a “traditional market”. Commissioner Silver said,

“We thought it was time since we’re coming back to such a traditional market as Indianapolis is, as Indiana is and all it means for basketball, that we were going to return to the classic format for our All-Star Game….it will be East vs. West with the return to the four quarters and the same format we’re all used to for a basketball game.”

A week before announcing the news, Adam Silver had hinted the same during his appearance on ESPN’s First Take. In conversation with Stephen A. Smith, Silver explained how a return to “something traditional” in terms of the teams would be more entertaining.

Before the traditional West vs East format, the two captains would select their teams irrespective of the conference. First, the two captains would select starters from a pool of eight players. And then they would pick their reserves from a pool of 14 players.

It was first introduced for the 2018 All-Star Game. However, after six years of using it, the league has finally decided to bring back the West vs East method of playing the game.

Format and winners of the past six editions of the All-Star Game

After using the West vs East format for almost six decades, the league decided to revamp the exhibition game. While the team selection format changed, the game’s format remained the same, four quarters of 12 minutes each.

In 2020, following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, the NBA announced a new format. Each of the first three quarters was considered as individual games with the scoreboard resetting after each period. For the final quarter, a target score would be determined by adding 24 points to the leading team’s cumulative score from the first three periods. This same format was used from 2020 until last season.

Results of the past six All-Star Games:

• 2018:

Team LeBron 148 vs Team Steph 145

MVP: LeBron James

• 2019:

Team LeBron 178 vs Team Giannis 164

MVP: Kevin Durant

• 2020:

Team LeBron 157 vs Team Giannis 155

MVP: Kawhi Leonard

• 2021:

Team LeBron 170 vs Team Durant 150

MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo

• 2022:

Team LeBron 163 vs Team Durant 160

MVP: Stephen Curry

• 2023:

Team Giannis 184 vs Team LeBron 175

MVP: Jayson Tatum