Should NBA change all-star format?

[KristianH]

What i mean should there be America vs. International game like it is in NHL. If it is not time for it already then it will be soon, since international players are making bigger impact on the NBA year by year.

This game would be more competitive and more interesting to watch. Players like Dirk Nowitzki, Pao Gasol, Andrei Kirilenko, Steve Nash, Yao Ming, Manu Ginobili, Zydrunas Iglauskas, Tony Parker, Peja Stojakovic are playing on All-star level, so it is not like some U.S. players couldn`t make it because of mediocre international guy.

[wardjdim]

nice thought. i back it up. but these americans have this east-west thing in the NBA which influences the all star game too... i doubt they re doin it any time soon.
still, international players will be sth like 50% of the nba total players within 10 yrs i think, so i wouldnt exclude this possibility at all when it comes to the near future..

[jonatansimon]

I am from spain.....I didnt want to see Iternational vs Usa players in the all star...just for one simple reason.

International players are usually not spectacular

[Charlie_S]

That's a nice idea, I'm with Kristian there. It could be a way to see a true game instead of the booooooring exhibitions (seeing people dunk easily without any defense isn't much spectacular to me) we've often seen in the past years...
jonatansimon, let's make a hypotetical international team for this season: it would probably be Nash, Parker, Ginobili, Kirilenko, Turkoglu, Diaw, Stojakovic, Nowitzki, Gasol, Okur, Yao, Ilgauskas.
Most of them don't even seem that unspectacular to me...

[Manumismo]

I don't know, it makes it more competitive but does it keep it the all star game? The majority of international players you listed didn't recieve enough votes to be All-Stars in the first place. A lot of deserving skilled players would be left out I believe in place of, yes more competitve, but it wouldn't be a representation of what the fans want. Some people want to see that kind of stuff from the All Star game. A lot of people who watch the All Star game a casual watchers of basketball.

I don't know really, to me, if you want a competitive game, there's always the playoffs.

[Hitster]

For the time being the All Star Game should be left as it is all the players listed have playedin All Star games but only Yao, Nash, Nowitzki and possibly Gasol could be considered as serious starters for an All Star Game. The others are great players and have reached all star level but an all American Team would just be too strong consider say Iverson, Bryant, Arenas, Carter, Marion, Wade, Brand, Garrett, Pierce, James, Shaq, Ben Wallace just for starters. Tim Duncan wasn't born in America so I've left him out for that reason not on reasons of form.

[nextstar1019]

anyone have a different thought on this now

it was said earlier, this is very interesting, but a while until it happens

[ecuhus]

Nash, Ginobili, Turkoglu, Duncan, Ming
Parker, Barbosa, Kirilenko, Nowizki, Gasol
Calderon, Dalembert

vs.

Paul, Bryant, James, Garnett, Howard
Billups, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, Stoudemire
Johnson, Boozer

I think it's fair to say that the international team would get OWNED by the American squad on the wings. There would be a battle in the paint, but even though USA trots out the All-NBA 1st team, I give the Internationals a slight advantage inside. With PGs, I feel that a Paul/Billups rotation would win 9 times out of 10 against a Nash/Parker one. But even if you feel it's a draw, the beating that Kobe, LeBron and the rest of the swingmen would put on the international perimeter would prove too much to overcome.




I would NOT like to see this type of format replace or even share All-Star Weekend with the main event. One game is enough for many veteran stars, who rely on R&R during the break in the grueling NBA schedule.

I would endorse this type of game as a pre-season opener, however. It would be a great revenue booster, and voting for the game would keep the interest level fro mfans high over the post-summer-league offseason.

[nextstar1019]

oh yeah, the US team would definitely own, but as the years go by, the international teams has and will continue to get better

[coachjon]

yea leave that for summer international play when we need some filler there are always something going on olympics, goodwill games, olympic qualifying leave it east vs west.

[Hitster]

It works well as it is at the moment, there has not been a greater influx of overseas stars since this was last discussed okay Fernandez is supposed to be a hot prospect, Koufos is potentially very good and Rubio has Franchise potential down the line. The All Star Game is important in that it could help decide home field final advantage in the event of a tie and as it works so well then why change it.

[THE ONE TRUE J]

I think that we the fans should have never been allowed to vote in players...
I think that collage/nba coaches should be picking the squads.....

I don't dig popularity voting.

[coachjon]

that is very true the all star game is suppossed to be for the fans but the fans always mess up the starting 5 it is a joke.

[Hitster]

Letting the fans vote is the most important thing as it allows them to participate in the selection process. Why should college coaches be involved, if anything every player should have a vote as well or the Coaches choose the squads and then the public vote for the starting 5 maybe revealing the results on game night with the players sat on the bench then the starting 5 called out.

[BubbaT]

Nash, Ginobili, Turkoglu, Duncan, Ming
Parker, Barbosa, Kirilenko, Nowizki, Gasol
Calderon, Dalembert

vs.

Paul, Bryant, James, Garnett, Howard
Billups, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, Stoudemire
Johnson, Boozer

...

I would NOT like to see this type of format replace or even share All-Star Weekend with the main event. One game is enough for many veteran stars, who rely on R&R during the break in the grueling NBA schedule.

I would endorse this type of game as a pre-season opener, however. It would be a great revenue booster, and voting for the game would keep the interest level fro mfans high over the post-summer-league offseason.

I agree it shouldn't replace the AS game. Simply put, guys like Barbosa, Kirilenko and Dalembert are not AS-quality players right now. No one was calling for those guys to make the AS game.

And like it or not, the number of AS teams a player makes does factor into his legacy - including HOF induction.

Yes, fans often screw up the voting. But more often they're screwing up who should be a starter vs a reserve, not voting in guys who have no business being in the AS game whatsoever.

[THE ONE TRUE J]

so just becuase a bunch of non playing fans say so and so is a great player he automaticly is?

take gilbert arenas for instance...sure he's athletic, can ball with the best of em, but you put him on a team and soon enough he'll run off any talent that may have been with his attitude.....so is he really on another level like...say....my most despised player I can think of...K*be Bryant.....HELL NO!!!!

but class acts like one brandon roy (who made the all star game by coaches votes) (I think?) wouldn't have made it if it were up to ill edumakated fans.....and that's cool? for brandon, and those that didn't make the game? becuase someone else dunks better? more?

NO us fans shouldn't be influencing something that should remain pure....

but with ref's and stern,.....it's becoming more and more about money....

not that money ain't good...but I was bleeding portland before the nba was making money.....and FANS...of other teams were too.

I just want an earned product to be dignified with the title of "all star" and not a media influenced popularity vote....

[BubbaT]

Arenas was averaging 29 ppg before the 2007 AS game.

If you don't feel he belonged there, name the 12 other Eastern Conference players who were better than him that season.
- Redd, when the Bucks stunk that year?
- Iguodala or Miller, when the 76ers stunk the first half of that year?
- TJ Ford, who has his own problems in terms of attitude without any of Arenas' production?

Let's hear it - if Arenas didn't deserve to be there, who did?


PS - who has Arenas run off? The superstar that is Larry Hughes? Kwame Brown?

[THE ONE TRUE J]

I'm not sure...

but my opinion of gilbert is just above my opinion of K*be Bryant.

skum with a nice aroma.

good basketball players don't always make good rolemodels.

that is the point I'm tentatively making.

sorry that we don't agree about gilbert.

[BubbaT]

Whether or not you like Arenas, can you at least agree that in 2007 he deserved to be an All-Star more than a Barbosa or Kirilenko would today if the format were to go NHL-style?

[THE ONE TRUE J]

yes? :(