Ever since NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced the new All-Star Game format last year, there has been a healthy dose of skepticism from basketball fans around the world. The All-Star Game has, quite frankly, been trash for years, and this latest effort to pit the United States against the world appeared to many to be a desperate attempt to save something that was beyond salvage.
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On Sunday, the game, or rather the games, happened, and everyone who trashed Silver’s Olympics-inspired idea has had to eat crow. The All-Star Game was a resounding success, with the best players actually putting effort for the first time in years. The result: Three straight competitive round-robin games before a lopsided final.
There’s a lot to talk about now that the dust has settled, thanks to the heroics. That included Kawhi Leonard going absolutely nuclear in front of his hometown fans, Victor Wembanyama inspiring the intense atmosphere, and Anthony Edwards winning his first career All-Star Game MVP. Kendrick Perkins had more to say.
When asked on this morning’s Get Up what his biggest takeaway from the new format was, Perk had a simple answer. “The whole conversation over the last few years has been about guys competing,” he said.
“But dammit, we got there yesterday. And it wasn’t just an All-Star Game, guys were actually playing basketball, guys were actually playing defense, guys were actually going at one another,” added Perkins, who credited Wemby for setting the tone.
However, Perkins also gave a lot of credit to Silver for his bold idea. “Adam Silver has now laid the foundation, and I believe he has found the recipe going forward,” he said.
Even in the lead-up to the game, some of the best players in the world were openly pining for the old East vs. West style. But there can be no debate after seeing what happened Sunday night that the new format worked.
Silver has a lot on his plate as NBA commissioner, and he’s gotten his share of criticism for the way he has handled certain things. If we’re going to let him hear it about the way he’s handled the tanking situation or the salary cap or the schedule, though, then we also have to give him his flowers when he takes a swing and connects.
The All-Star Game is supposed to be a showcase of the very best athletes in the world. But for too long now, we’ve come out of All-Star Weekend with nothing but negativity surrounding the festivities. For the first time in a while, basketball fans actually feel good about what they just watched.
That momentum should carry through the rest of the season and into next year’s game, too. Steph Curry has already said that he’ll be returning to the 3-Point Contest next year and that he’ll try to recruit Klay Thompson to join him. If Damian Lillard defends his title to attempt to become the first person to ever win four times, then that event will have a ton of juice.
With Wemby and the World out for revenge, next year’s All-Star Game could be even better. All the more if Silver makes a few slight tweaks to ensure that the old heads aren’t gassed by the time the finale rolls around. It took some heroic resuscitation, but against all odds, the All-Star Game is back.
