The NBA All-Star Game in 2023 was such a disaster that the league decided to alter the format for 2024. The Draft of All-Stars? Vanished. The End of Elam? Vanished. This was the first time the league had reverted to its original structure since 2017. East against West. A game with a set time limit. The league wants to bring back some of the magic that once defined the All-Star Games.
One player, who took part in numerous All-Star Games, offers an easier fix. During his Sunday appearance at the Legends Brunch in Indianapolis, Larry Bird asked the 24 players who will play on Sunday night to do one simple thing. Bird stated, “The one thing I really want to see is them play hard in this All-Star Game tonight.” “It’s crucial, in my opinion, to compete, play hard, and demonstrate to the supporters your true ability when the best players in the world are together.”
NBA greats like Bird weren’t the only ones to subtly express their disappointment with the 2023 All-Star Game. At his press conference on Saturday, Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged that the All-Star Game from the previous year was “uniformly critical” and that he was hoping for a better performance on Sunday.
