Scrolling through Facebook posts over the last week, you may have come across a video with the last five minutes of the historic All Star Game NBA (if you missed it, here is the program of the 2024 All Star Game) which was played in Washington in 2001: Eastern Conference against Western Conference and that is Kobe Bryant contro Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd vs. Stephon Marbury, Tim Duncan vs. Dikembe Mutombo. It’s true, it’s no longer the NBA of our fathers and, whether you don’t want it or not, somehow we have to accept that times have changed. Nevertheless, it’s impossible not to be dazzled by that spectacle on the pitch resulting from the strongest players on the planet who decide to bend their legs and defend as if they were playing Game 7 of the Final.
Bryant dominates on offense and we know how overwhelming the Black Mamba’s hunger for victory was (here is the episode of the Podcast dedicated to Kobe Bryant): the son of Jelly Bean always wanted to win at all costs, regardless of the stage he was on. Yet, despite his exploits, the representative of the Eastern Conference triumphed in that All Star Game thanks to a memorable team effort and a triple by Marbury 29 seconds from the siren which gave his team the plus 1 which closed the game. The final score (note this data)? 111 – 110.
L’All Star Game NBA 2024
Let’s leap forward 23 years: 18 February 2024. After several attempts – all of which failed – to make the All Star Game attractive to spectators againNBA commissioner Adam Silver has decided to propose again for the main event on Sunday evening the old formula that made the success of the star game: Eastern Conference contro Western Conference with the audience at home voting for the participating players from 19 December to 20 January. The hope? Rediscover a level of competitive spirit that is at least acceptable.
The answer, unfortunately negative, to this hope is easily found in the difference between two numbers: in 1993 the fouls committed in an All Star Game were 62 while those booed in 2024 there were only 3. A figure that has steadily decreased over the course of the editions and which represents it at its best a decidedly lazy approach. Immobile defenses that leave space for players to execute their dunks which, at times, even risk turning into bad figures, like the one Doncic missed after throwing the ball to the backboard. Three-point shots taken from sidereal distances without really feeling the need. The final score of this ‘show’? 211 to 186 per Eastyet another missed opportunity and that intensity that animated the parquets in the Nineties and early 2000s seems to have definitively abandoned the competition.
The rest of the weekend didn’t offer so many emotions: in addition to the usual 3-point shooting competition and the Skills Challenge, the long-awaited Slam Dunk Contest – which sees, after several years, the participation of an All Star like Jaylen Brown – has now lost its charm, mainly because the ideas are almost exhausted and even those participants with a boundless imagination still have to deal with their natural physical limits. The only consolation? The legendary Mac McClung of the Osceola Magic who continues to amaze with his extraordinary athletic abilities: his dunk going over Shaquille O’Neal’s big body is perhaps the only highlight worthy of a challenge that we forgot immediately after the 50 awarded to the player by the five judges.
To underline it even more the very particular moment that the All Star Game is experiencingthe words of Anthony Edwards, the best player of the Minnesota Timberwolves, released to the microphones of HoopsHype:
For me it’s an All-Star Game. It’s super fun but I don’t think I’ll ever consider it super competitive. It’s a break. I don’t think anyone wants to come here and compete
Not everything is to be thrown away
What do we want to save from this All Star Game 2024? The challenge from behind the arc between Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and the WNBA champion of the New York Liberty Sabrina Ionescu – the proceeds of which were donated to charity – was probably the high point of the All Star Weekenda real breath of fresh air.
Ionescu sold his life dearly with a sumptuous performance: the New York Liberty player finished with 26 points scoring 12 of the first 14 shots from 7.25 meters, the distance of the 3-pointer in the NBA (in the WNBA, however, the three-point line is positioned 6.25 meters from the basket). The 4 time champion Curryto triumph against the rival, he had to score a 29better even than the result of Damian Lillard, the winner of the Three Point Shooting Challenge.
The WNBA is continuously growing in the United States, followed by an ever-increasing audience and it is very important that the NBA gradually opens up to the women’s professional basketball league. It is not a case that of these three days in Indianapolis – city in the United States that hosted the ASG this year – the only thing I really appreciated was this race and the reason is very simple: both athletes they gave their heart and soul to try to lift the trophy. In this sense, it is also significant that a figure like Stepha true ambassador of the League, be the spokesperson for a minor phenomenon which, however, is gaining more and more consideration and consensus.
What does the next All Star Game have in store for us?? It is not at all easy to hypothesize a possible future that will please the public and the organization: the NBA leadership led by Adam Silver will have to sit down, perhaps together with the players themselves, to think of something different that can bring with it energy and aggression on a weekend in which even the event’s watchword, fun, is no longer a relevant factor.
Perhaps, a Rest of the World match – which boasts some of the Top 10 players in the NBA such as the reigning champion Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, the Canadian basketball player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Greek superstar Giannīs Antetokounmpo – and Team USA could be a viable option. However, if the best athletes on the planet are not encouraged from a competitive point of view (provided that they also put in a little more desire than what we have seen in recent years), finding a solution will be really complicated.
2024-02-21 13:44:45
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