NBA All Star Game: New-look format sees Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden team up
The NBA All Star game has had a major overhaul to breathe new life into what was once the showpiece event of the US basketball calendar.
With fans, and the stars themselves, appearing to lose interest in the game, the NBA is trying a new format for the first time but one star — LeBron Jamaes — won’t be playing.
The Lakers superstar withdrew with an leg injury on Monday morning AEDT meaning he will miss the first All Star game of his 20-year career.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Last year’s game saw more than 200 points scored and little to no defence being played, as it started to resemble a shoot-around at a playground court instead of fierce competition between the league’s best players.
The NBA ditched the original Eastern against Western conference format after 2017, which had been in use since 1951.
In 2018, they moved to a team captains format where a star player picked their team from whichever teams they wanted.
But returning to the traditional conference format in 2024 failed to deliver a better quality of game.
“I think there’s no doubt that the players were disappointed as well in last year’s All-Star Game,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said late last year.
“We all want to do a better job providing competition and entertainment for our fans.”
Today’s All Star game will not be one game but three, with four teams of eight stars playing two games with the winners to meet in the final.
The three All Star teams are “coached” by an NBA great, while the fourth team is the winning team from the Rising Stars game on Sunday, which is led by US sports broadcaster Candace Parker.
The three All Star teams playing in San Francisco are themed.
Shaq’s OGs (Shaquille O’Neal) features Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum; Chuck’s Global Stars (Charles Barkley) features Donovan Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, and Victor Wembanyama; and Kenny’s Young Stars (Kenny Smith) features Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, and Evan Mobley.
The teams will play an untimed first-to-40-point format, with each game allocated less than an hour’s playing time.
The first match has Chuck’s Global Stars against Kenny’s Young Stars (12.20 pm AEDT), followed by Shaq’s OGs against Candace’s Rising Stars (1.10 pm). The final will be played at 2 pm AEDT.
Team Shaq: Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving. Lebron James is out injured and will not be replaced.
Team Chuck: Donovon Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Pascal Siakam, Alperen Sengun and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Team Kenny: Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Evan Mobley and Jalen Williams.
