The NBA announced this week that it will make changes to the way starters for the All-Star Game are determined, reducing the influence of the fan vote. Instead of being determined entirely by fans, as they have been since the 1974/75 season, All-Star starters will be voted in by fans (50%), players (25%), and coaches (25%).
The timing of the change is interesting — it comes a year after veteran center Zaza Pachulia was nearly voted into the game as a Western Conference starter due to a fan push, and it comes at a time when the NBA is in the process of finalizing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Under the old CBA, players on rookie contracts could qualify for more lucrative contract extensions if they had been voted an All-Star starter, but the new CBA is doing away with that criteria for its designated player extensions. In other words, at a time when the NBA seems to be getting more serious about its All-Star Game voting, it’s now a little less critical for players to crack the starting lineup.
While fans certainly haven’t always picked the top five players in a given conference to start the game, All-Star weekend is essentially a series of exhibitions designed for the fans. It’s easy to make the case that fans should get to watch the players they want to see in the All-Star Game. There’s also no guarantee that the choices made by players and the media will be any better than those made by the fans. A handful of players have already talked about casting their ballots for their teammates, and Kyrie Irving is among the players who believes there may be some bias on the part of the media as well.
What do you think? Will the new All-Star voting rules help create stronger starting lineups for the game? Was it necessary to change the way All-Star starters are selected? If so, was there a more effective way to do it? Jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts!
The all star game needs to change who gets voted on instead of how they get voted on. I know they are linked to an extent but every year there are players that are more than deserving that get left off the list
I 100% degree, every year you have guys who are far outside the playoff picture that make the team, such as Melo, and have guys who should be in, Kemba Walker from Charlotte should’ve been in last year, and don’t
Damien lillard hasn’t made the team the last 2 years. That’s just ridiculous
I think the voting is good for the top players to fairly get the start, which is basically a mid season award. But is sorta takes away the fan interaction with it, which is what all star week is more about, entertaining the fans, not the players. So it’s positive and negative. But it shouldn’t affect it too much, because fans still get to vote.
If players/coaches are allowed to vote for their own teammates then thats just rediculous…
I would prefer if the fans only voted two players to each team (one backcourt, one frontcourt), with the coaches and players filling the remaining 10 spots, and the coach of each team deciding the starting lineups. As it is, the fan vote rarely (never?) rewards the 5 best players in each conference. This way, the fans still get to be involved, and the 12 best players in each conference *should* make the All-Star teams.
My plan this year was simply to vote for Lillard (because they can’t snub him if the fans vote him in) and Pachulia (because I want the league to reform the fan voting process). These changes don’t solve the Lillard problem, but it’s a good start towards solving the Pachulia problem.