Report: NBA All-Star Game Winners to Receive $100K, Losing Team to Receive $25K

The NBA All-Star Game is not exactly known for its hard-nosed defense and max effort, but the league is reportedly taking a step to improve the competitiveness of this year's version on Feb. 18 in Los Angeles.

According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, the players on the winning side will receive $100,000. He noted winners previously received $50,000 compared to $25,000 for the losers, but the difference between a win and a loss is now $75,000.

The change apparently had the desired effect considering some of the player quotes Haynes included in his report.

"That'll certainly make it more interesting," Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving said. "That's a huge difference."

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson echoed that sentiment, saying, "I think it will help, for sure. That's a lot of money."

Teammate Stephen Curry agreed: "That's significant. For some players, they just want to see [the game] being worth their time."

Curry was directly involved in the most prominent change to this year's event. As the top vote-getter in the Western Conference, he had the opportunity to pick the teams alongside LeBron James—the top vote-getter in the Eastern Conference.

Rather than pit the two conferences against each other as in years past, the two squads James and Curry drafted will face each other a la a playground battle with team captains.

Curry will have some familiar faces with Thompson and Draymond Green on his side, but James took Warriors forward Kevin Durant with the first pick. "What, we gonna keep this a mystery?" Durant said when confirming James took him No. 1, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Rosalyn Gold-Onwude of NBA on TNT, Curry countered by taking Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo with his first selection.

There are plenty of intriguing storylines in the All-Star Game with Durant and James playing alongside each other, Durant pairing with Russell Westbrook again, the other Warriors finding a way to thrive together on an All-Star court and fresh faces such as Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns adding some new flavor to the game.

There will likely still be the stretches of lackadaisical defense leading to rim-rattling dunks and wide-open threes, but the additional financial prize waiting at the end figures to play a role when the All-Stars clamp down on defense in the closing minutes.