DALLAS — Dear David Stern,
The All-Star Game is boring. Like C-SPAN2 boring. Like Padres-Pirates boring. We’re the NBA, darn it, the Barnum & Bailey of sports leagues. Let’s give this thing a Heidi Montag face-lift and get people buzzing about who’s on the court, instead of just who’s sitting courtside.
1. A 4-point shot. Now, I’m not trying to tarnish the game here, I’m just trying to spice up this exhibition by adding a 4-point, sideline-to- sideline arc, perhaps 3 feet deeper than a 3-pointer. It wouldn’t be tacky, it would be tactful — a clever way to create a buzz. It would be unique to the NBA All-Star Game. And if the game got out of hand, the losing team could theoretically climb back into it with a foray into 4-point land. (I can already hear it on “SportsCenter”: “LeBron for 4. . . . Fore!”)
2. Roster reordering. OK, you gotta follow me on this one. In the NBA, there is little pride in representing a conference. This isn’t SEC vs. Big 12. Players are on teams that just happen to be compartmentalized into conferences based on region. So let’s make the roster-choosing part of the excitement of all-star night. Per usual, the fans will vote on ballots for 10 players, five from each conference, who are all-stars for sure. And the NBA coaches, per usual, will select the 14 reserves (the only difference is — now it doesn’t matter what conference the players come from. You could have 12 from the West and two from the East, as long as it’s fair. With this plan, guys like Chauncey Billups won’t be snubbed, and guys like Al Horford won’t make the all- star team just because the East has to fill a roster).
OK, now that you have your pool of 22 NBA all-stars, here’s where it gets awesome.
Two NBA fans will be chosen (explanation coming shortly), and these two lucky folks will be the “captains” of each all-star team. In a colorful, oncourt spectacle before the game, the two fans will pick the all-star teams, playground-style. (“I’ll take. . . um . . . Kobe!” . . . “I’ll take . . . um . . . Melo!”). It would be so much fun. Millions would tune in to see who picks whom. In the month leading up to the game, fans could debate who they’d pick if they were the all-star captains. People would tune in to see someone just like them have an impact on the all-star game. It would be revolutionary.
Here’s how it would work.
Take two corporate sponsors, say, Snickers and Sprite. Each company would launch an innovative national ad campaign, Willy Wonka style. On each Snickers wrapper or under each Sprite cap, there would be a code. The consumer would go to the NBA’s website, type in the code and register. Before a Thursday TNT game in January, the league would announce the all-star captains. Everyone will tune in, because the captains could be them! Cameras will arrive at the winners’ homes. They will hold news conferences and have fun discussing their team-picking “strategies.” The whole thing will work because it’s the NBA rewarding its fans, valuing their importance to the sport.
On game night, the Sprite fan and the Snickers fan will choose the teams. Then the two teams will go into a quick meeting with the actual two NBA coaches, assigned to either Team Snickers or Team Sprite. The players will go over some brief strategy, and they’ll come out wearing snazzy uniforms featuring the logo of each company. And during the game, the fan-captains will sit on the bench next to the coaches, “advising” them on strategy.
Think about this — the NBA constantly tries to improve its image as fan-friendly. How better can it improve its image than having fans be the all-star captains, sitting on the all-star bench?
3. Commissioner’s picks. The NBA prides itself on teamwork and community service. And there are players every year, notably the best defensive players or “energy” players, who don’t get rewarded because they don’t have glitzy stats. I say, each year, a 13th player is named to each conference’s all-star team — the commissioner’s all-star.
Perhaps it’s a guy like Kenyon Martin, one of the better defenders in basketball. Or perhaps it’s a player who’s been in the league for a decade and is retiring — a way to say thanks for his commitment to being a classy NBA player. Or this season, perhaps Samuel Dalembert would be a commissioner’s all-star, representing his proud country of Haiti. The guy wouldn’t be classified as an actual all-star — he’d be a commissioner’s all-star. He’d be on an all-star team, yes, and would get some minutes in the game, but it would be understood that he was a special pick.
It would be a cool, honorable and unique thing, and it wouldn’t tarnish the sanctity of being an all-star. Besides, we need to spice this thing up anyway, because right now, it’s NBA All-Star Game boring.
SPOTLIGHT ON
The All-Star Game MVP
Not that the down decades helped, but the Nuggets’ franchise has had only one All-Star Game MVP, David Thompson in 1979. In fact, the past 12 MVP awards have gone to just six guys: Shaquille O’Neal (three), Kobe Bryant (three), Allen Iverson (two, both with the 76ers), LeBron James (two), Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.
This season, Nuggets (and Western Conference) coach George Karl wants his guy to make a run at it.
“I would hope Melo takes the All-Star Game a little more serious,” Karl said of Carmelo Anthony, elected to his first starting position. “I think some great players try to go and win the MVP, and that’s not by scoring (necessarily), but by playing serious, hard basketball — more than everyone else does.
“You never know how the game’s going to unfold. I’ve seen Kobe, LeBron and Michael (Jordan) go after the MVP, I’ve seen it. And you don’t have to — it’s a showcase of fun and skills and entertainment. To go after it, you might have to be more serious than the other guy, and then there might be competition. I would hope Melo would make that move.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
