This past weekend was the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge and the game itself. While the concept of bringing the best 24 players in the NBA and allowing them to face off against each other sounds like an incredible opportunity, the reality of this game is a fake scrimmage with no defense, and without a single player trying. Similarly, in the skills competitions, we see G-Leaguers winning the dunk contest, and Anthony Edwards shooting left-handed during the obstacle course. The six hours I spent watching these “competitions” over two days were filled with hundreds of commercials and very little true entertainment. 

In the All-Star game, the Eastern Conference broke the record for most points scored with a whopping 211 points, and the West followed with an also insane score of 186. These numbers show the minimal amount of effort the players put into the game. Throughout the entire game, almost no one played any defense and this led to the ridiculous score at the end of the game. 

This shows the need for a change in the entire weekend to make the game more entertaining for everyone playing and watching. I think the best idea is to make it a 3-on-3 tournament. Split the entirety of the 24 players into teams of three and create a bracket to allow them to go against each other. Along with the large cash prize at the end, and the competitive nature of the 3-on-3 tournament, it would lead to a much more entertaining all-star game and improve the entire weekend.