LOS ANGELES — The NBA’s ploy to inject intensity into this weekend’s All-Star Game with a new US-versus-the-world format has divided basketball’s biggest superstars before a single slam dunk has been scored.
Once a highlight of the calendar, the All-Star Game has suffered from a lack of competitiveness and declining audiences, forcing NBA bosses to pivot from the traditional East-versus-West format.
On Sunday (Monday in Manila), a “Team World” will play two teams of US players in a mini-tournament, highlighting the globalized nature of a league that has given its Most Valuable Player award to foreign players for seven years running.
French prodigy Victor Wembanyama on Saturday gave the move his blessing, telling reporters that the new format “definitely has a chance to” ramp up the intensity.
“We’ve seen that many of the best players have been increasingly foreign players. So there is some pride on that side,” he explained.
“I guess there is some pride also on the American side, which is normal. So I think anything that gets closer to representing a country brings out that pride.”
However, Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham, who will represent one of the US teams, was left yearning for the All-Star Games of his youth and felt the formula did not need to be changed.
“I would like to experience the East versus West — I want to be able to experience what all the greats played in,” he said.
“But I’m just playing the cards I was dealt, and I’m sure it will come back eventually.”
In a similar vein to the 1992 Olympics’ mesmerizing “Dream Team” of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, the 75-year-old All-Star Game has historically helped popularize the NBA worldwide.
But viewership has declined. Comparing the strength of the NBA’s local and international players is the latest attempt to reverse those declines.
American players still make up around 70 percent of NBA rosters. But foreign superstars have become increasingly influential.
