NBA announces All-Star Game will revert back to East vs. West and classic format

This week it has been confirmed that the All-Star Game will return to its roots next year, as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that it will revert to the previous format of Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference, as well as the four-quarter scoring. 

The weekend, which is set for mid-February at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, is expected to eliminate the Elam Ending and come back to the scoring system with four 12-minute quarters.

“While the NBA All-Star Game will no longer have an untimed fourth quarter or conclude when one team reaches or surpasses the Final Target Score, the teams will continue to compete to win each quarter for a charitable organization of their choosing,” the league announced on Wednesday.

This traditional format sets a target amount of points for teams to reach in order to achieve victory, and should guarantee that every game ends on a winning basket, instead of typically waiting for the clock to run out.

“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. “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.’”

This year, the game marked the first time in All-Star history in which both teams were selected by their respective captain just moments before tip off, almost like a schoolyard match. Next time, each squad will compete to conquer each quarter to earn money for a charitable organization of their choosing.

According to the NBA Commissioner, the voting process to select the All-Star rosters will remain the same, with 12 players chosen from each conference and the highest voted will become the team leader.

On the other hand, the league had met with the National Basketball Players Association and reached the agreement to increase the competitiveness in the All-Star Game as part of the new collective bargaining agreement set this summer.

“A lot of it comes down to reinforcing with our players and our teams how important this is for the fans,” Silver shared on ESPN. “ … We don’t expect playoff intensity, but we expect a competitive game for our fans.”

NBA fans have reacted positively to the change in format, expressing the importance of keeping tradition in modern basketball

As for now, most basketball fans have applauded the NBA’s decision to respect tradition and return the All-Star match to its beginnings. The modern game and the rush to transform it into the show business industry has constantly threatened its typical formats.

“Glad the All-Star game is going back to East/West. The Draft was cool for a few years, and the elam ending was great to be featured from the TBT to the NBA. But let’s get back to tradition,” one fan called @dadjr84 wrote on his X account.

The @NBA is going back to the East/West All Star teams!

Hopefully they let fans design the jerseys😏 pic.twitter.com/72lOOZTqKs

— Fan Controlled Sports (@fancontrolled) October 25, 2023

While some hope to see the NBA let fans design the jerseys once again, others would like to see the players wear their team jerseys and not one use the East or West uniforms.

“NBA someone let Adam Silver know the traditional thing too with the All Star game is letting the players wear their team jersey not wear a jersey that say East/West,” @414Msmooth posted.