There's finally a reasonable plan to save NBA All-Star weekend

There's simply no sugar coating things after what we just witnessed at NBA All-Star weekend. There's never been a worse product than what was just displayed this past weekend at the Chase Center, but the NBA is finally putting concepts in place to save the spectacle after seeing the event diminish over recent years.

In a lot of ways after watching this most recent weekend of events, it's easy to argue that the NBA All-Star weekend is a thing of the past and probably not worth saving. However, rumors of a revamped array of events in 2026 at least gives off the idea that the league is taking things seriously and wants to see the All-Star Game return to its previous glory.

Major changes could be coming to the 2026 NBA All-Star Game:

• $1 million 1-on-1 tournament
• 5 p.m. ET start time
• Big-name stars in the dunk contest
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 17, 2025

The first major proposal, according to Front Office Sports, is a $1 million one-on-one tournament. Now, this has the makings of something special if the league can convince its top stars like Victor Wembanyama, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, LeBron James and others to compete in it.

The idea might be many years too late, but with many more promising young players coming into the league in future seasons this has the potential to really spark All-Star weekend and there's a prize pool that's enticing to players.

The NFL has turned the Pro Bowl into a flag football game

NBA All Stars don't even break a sweat or play defense in their game

NHL players are throwing haymakers 3 seconds into the #4nations game and it looks like the Royal Rumble

This game rules
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 16, 2025

There were also rumors during the course of this All-Star Game that some bigger stars will be open to competing in the Dunk Contest moving forward, potentially even Ja Morant and past winners Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine.

While Mac McClung's three-peat, which included his take on Blake Griffin's classic of jumping over a car, was extremely impressive, the reality is the NBA needs as many of its superstars as possible to generate interest back in the series of competitions.

While other leagues like the NHL have become more innovative with their All-Star weekend, including their recent success with the Four Nations tournament, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is in a precarious spot at the moment as his league's attention steadily drops.

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