Team LeBron James beat Team Steph Curry 148-145 in the star-studded showcase on Sunday, successfully bringing intrigue back to an event that had become stale and little more than players going through the motions.
Though it wasn’t exactly played at playoff intensity, Sunday’s contest was nowhere near the farce of last season’s 192-182 laugher.
There was actual defence played at times, with deflections, blocks and fouls preventing several easy points. And the fourth quarter actually felt something you would see in a typical competitive NBA game, with Team LeBron storming back in the final minutes partly because of defensive stands.
Maybe the interest wouldn’t have been the same if the game hadn’t come down to the final possession and had instead been a blowout, but there were enough redeeming qualities through the first three quarters to make the spectacle appealing.
“We wanted to kind of change the narrative of the All-Star Game being a joke,” Kevin Durant said. “Today we wanted to make it a real basketball game.”
Directly or not, the new format made a difference. The change – which mixed the East v West dynamic and instead saw James and Curry draft their squads irrespective of conference – gave the players further reason to write a worthwhile first chapter to the new era.
And it helps when the face of the league and its best player is setting the tone for everyone else, as James collected MVP honours for his 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
“It worked out for everybody – not only for the players, not only for the league, but our fans,’’ James said. “It was a great weekend and capped it off the right way. It had a real-game feel to it. Steph and I took it upon ourselves to change the landscape of the game.’’
Next year’s event has a chance to be even better, with commissioner Adam Silver all but confirming the draft will be televised after the players expressed comfort in having the order of the picks made public.
“When we sat with the union and we came up with this format, we all agreed, let’s not turn something that’s 100 per cent positive into a potential negative to any player,” Silver told ESPN.
“But then… maybe we’re overly conservative because then we came out of there, and the players were, ‘We can take it. We’re All-Stars. Let’s have a draft.’ So it sounds like we’re going to have a televised draft next year.”
Ultimately, the All-Star Game, due to its nature, can only be so enthralling, but at least it’s now on the right track.
