NBA to Introduce All-Star Saturday Night Champion at 2013 All-Star Weekend

The NBA’s All-Star Weekend was lacking in the competition department, and the event’s organizers have come up with a solution to rectify this situation.

According to an official press release from the league, All-Star Saturday Night will now be jam-packed with events that pit the Eastern and Western Conferences against one another.

Each conference’s representatives can earn points by competing in the Shooting Stars event, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest—all of which will take place on Feb. 16, 2013, and be broadcast on TNT beginning at 8 p.m. ET. 

At the end of the night, the conference with the most points will be crowned the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night Champion.

On top of this, the All-Star Saturday Night conference captain’s favorite charities will receive $350,000 of the $500,000 the insurance giant has allocated to give away as a sponsor (the losing conference’s charities get the remaining $150,000).

This is a great idea to up the level of excitement during All-Star Weekend, an event that was beginning to grow stale for many fans.

It’s also a nice way for players to help raise money for a worthy cause. That should be all the motivation needed for these superstars to make an effort during the contests.

There’s no better opportunity for the league to foster competition between its greatest players than this. It would behoove all participants at Houston’s All-Star Saturday Night events to bring their ‘A’ game, as it will bring pride to their conference, and more importantly, money to those who need it.

While this isn’t the only fix that the NBA’s All-Star lineup needs, it’s certainly a good start and should help make the 2013 event one of the best yet.