It’s no secret that the NBA and every one of the other four major professional sports in North America have been looking for an edge when it comes to marketing their All-Star weekends. The NBA has the advantage of skills competitions that fans love to watch, including the Slam Dunk Competition and three-point competition, but they haven’t stopped there in terms of new marketing angles.
This year, the NBA had introduced a new format to the annual Rising Stars Challenge and the game will once again feature first-year and second-year players going up against each other. The difference is this time around, the teams will be divided in to a USA vs. the World format.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jQHxEaV0-I
Global Growth On Display
The new approach to the game makes sense from a number of different viewpoints. The NBA has tried several different formats in order to get their fans to buy in to the hype and the global outlook could be the best of them, especially since the league has already done such a good job of marketing the game around the world over the past two decades.
Taking a look at the league’s landscape, there are 101 international players from 37 different countries on NBA rosters this year and while fans from around the world undoubtedly have their favorite teams that they cheer for, they also have their favorite players that represent their home countries. The fact that the players for this game are in their first or second years likely means it wasn’t very long ago that they were playing in their home countries and that will add to the “USA vs. the World” set up the game is being built for.
Masks The Injury Problem
Another important aspect of the new approach to the game is the fact that it covers up a potentially huge problem in that the last two rookie classes have been destroyed by injuries. A year ago Anthony Bennett, Otto Porter, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Trey Burke, and C.J. McCollum all missed significant time and now this year it is Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Aaron Gordon, Dante Exum, Marcus Smart and Julius Randle who have succumbed to injuries. The new format works well to mask the problems caused by these injuries and moves the main focus to the player nationalities rather than the draft classes.
USA vs The World
The unique rosters will also lead to some very intriguing matchups that should work well for drawing NBA fans in. The No. 1 overall pick in each of the last two draft classes has been used to select Canadian players with Bennett selected in 2013 and Andrew Wiggins taken first in 2014. The two Timberwolves teammates will be joined by fellow Canadian Nik Stauskas as well as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Mirotic, and Steven Adams for the World team. Meanwhile, Michael Carter-Williams and Cody Zeller will be joined by Victory Oladipo for team USA.
Also, it’s no secret that the Slam Dunk Competition is a big part of All-Star weekend and with Oladipo and Antetokounmpo both competing in the Rising Stars Challenge (not to mention the presence of Wiggins), we could see some unbelievable dunks foreshadowing what we’ll see in the dunk contest.
Will You Watch?
So it’s still All-Star weekend and this is essentially a glorified exhibition game. There’s really no way around it. However, the rookie-sophomore game has been a proven grounds in the past. Sure, nobody really tries but these young guns do put an inkling more effort than the real All-Stars because this gives them an opportunity to shine on a big stage. For guys like Zeller and Stauskas, who have struggled to emerge, it’s an opportunity to show that they can in fact ball and that what’s hampered their development is the environment they’re in with their respective teams.
So there’s that flavor mixed in with the added taste of patriotism. Does mean we’ll be biting? No. It’s not must-see TV. But we appreciate that the league is trying and if previously, our interest level was a three out of 10, it’s moved up slightly by a point.
