NBA All-Star Weekend 2012: 10 Events to Fix NBA All-Star Weekend

NBA All-Star Weekend 2012 is almost upon us. The festivities kick off tomorrow night at 7 PM with the Celebrity All-Star Game, but will anyone tune in?

The NBA All-Star Weekend has gone downhill in recent history with little interest and unknown participants all leading up to arguably the most anti-climactic event of the weekend...the NBA All-Star Game.

So what can the NBA do to make the All-Star Weekend exciting again?

I have a few ideas... 

A Bigger, Better Horse

A game everyone has played in their driveway once or twice: H-O-R-S-E.

The classic "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" game is all about bragging rights. The NBA took horse by the reins and added it to the All-Star Weekend in 2009. Kevin Durant won the first and second NBA Horse competition at All-Star Weekend before the NBA cancelled the event altogether in 2011. 

The reason horse was cancelled was because the broadcast time would run short. They would have to finish fast, which meant Kevin Durant started shooting threes to put away his competitors.

If I wanted to watch the Durantula shoot normal, everyday threes, I would watch the Three-Point Shootout!

So how can the NBA fix this?

Make it fun! Pre-record the segment so you can allow the proper time. I think this event could be a lot of fun for the players and the fans if they had time to really play.  

Streetball 21

21, like horse, is another game that kids all over the world have played to settle arguments and to capture bragging rights.

The goal is to get to 21 points in a multi-player free-for-all with other obstacles—tip-ins are worth three points and send the tipped back to zero and so on.

This may not seem exciting at first, but can you picture Kobe, LeBron and Kevin Durant playing one-on-one-on-one?

One-on-One

We see it all year long in big games: superstars guarding other superstars. So why not see it at All-Star Weekend?

Take an eight-man bracket based on fan voting. It'd be great players versus great players and could be fun for the All-Stars.  Maybe ignite some new rivalries?

Imagine LeBron vs. Carmelo in the finals! 

Three-on-Three

Like the one-on-one idea, three-on-three could be entertaining too.

To make it more interesting, it would be cool to see the NBA use a draft to pick the teams. Fans could vote for eight team captains before the weekend, and they would then pick their team from a pool of players—almost like the NHL All-Star Game.

Even if the player pool to choose from were second or third tier players it would give fans a chance to see some names they aren't familiar with play with players like Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. 

Two-on-Two NBA-WNBA

To continue the small team events, I have one more.

A two-on-two event featuring an NBA player with a WNBA player. They could make teams representing each division and have a mini tournament.

This would be entertaining and help out the struggling WNBA.

NBA SlamBall

Ok, so hear me out. You can't possibly tell me that SlamBall wasn't awesome...well, maybe not awesome. How about mildly entertaining?

It was certainly more entertaining than the Shooting Star competition. Imagine seeing NBA players playing on a SlambBall court! Maybe even make it a game of all point guards!

Either way, that could definitely be a way to spruce up the weekend a bit. 

Mr. Clutch Competition

We have the three-point shootout already, but what about a clutch competition?

Have a few different situations (opposite baseline, sideline, own baseline, free throws,...etc) and have some of the best defenders in the league play defense on a last second shot.

It'd be a quick, entertaining competition because who hasn't found themselves in the gym counting down in their head before a deep three? 

Wide World of NBA

During the lockout this year we saw a lot players broaden their sporting horizons. Let's see some of that at All-Star Weekend!

Let's see a rematch between LeBron and Durant in flag football or even a softball game between Jason Kidd and Glen Davis! Something different and interesting showing players play other sports. 

A Relevant Dunk Contest

Enough with the random third and fourth tier players, let's find some NBA superstars who will step up for the fans. Yeah you're risking injury, but you risk injury getting in your sports car every morning!

Get rid of the fan votes for dunk scores and get some real players in the contest. Step up for the fans, and put on a good show! I can't even imagine a LeBron vs. Dwight Howard vs. Dwayne Wade vs. Blake Griffin dunk contest!

Come on Superstars!

An All-Star Game That MATTERS!

This one is on the minds of players and fans throughout. The game would be more exciting if the players actually got something for winning.

They need an incentive to put on a good, competitive show. Why not take Major League Baseball's idea and make it for home court advantage in the finals? 

What Do You Want to See?

So you've heard my ideas, what do you think?

Do you like what I have to say or could my ideas use some work? What do you think the NBA should add or change? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!