The numbers don't lie|The lowest ratings in 20 years!Can a return to the classics save the All-Star Game?

Last season's All-Star Game was played in a way that the NBA wants to never experience again. No one was interested in defense, and almost no one watched the game, at least judging by the poor ratings.

According to the data, the 2023 All-Star Game has a TNT rating of 2.2 and 4.6 million viewers, both of which hit a new low in nearly 20 years. Compared to the 2003 All-Star Game, the ratings at that time were 6.6 and the number of viewers was 10.8 million. The league decided to reform, and they wanted to make the All-Star Game even better.

The league couldn't say what would be done to save the game, so they decided to try a change at the 2024 All-Star Game and return to the classic East-West confrontation mode, which lasted 48 minutes.

Defensive intensity is the main concern

No one wants to see an All-Star Game that turns into a three-point contest, but no one expects it to be as strong as a playoff tiebreaker. Because big-name stars don't risk injury, not to mention the 65-game rule for all of this year's regular season awards.

However, perhaps a little more intensity could help the event bounce back. The 10-time All-Star named Curry said the players have discussed some related topics and are looking forward to making some adjustments, which is to add some defense.

Looking back at the All-Star Game in 2023, the Alphabet team defeated the James team 184-175, and the Celtics star Tatum scored 55 points to set an All-Star Game record, and in that game, the two teams combined for only 4 free throws combined. Tatum joked in the interview: "I may not score 55 points tomorrow." ”

Everyone knows that if the defensive intensity of the All-Star Game doesn't come up, it's really easy to score. A lot of three-point attempts seemed inevitable, and in last year's All-Star Game, the two teams made a total of 255 shots, 126 of which were three-pointers, accounting for 49.4 percent. There are also a lot of dunks, and the three-point and dunk are basically done without defense, which also makes the game much less enjoyable.

After last year's All-Star break, Nuggets coach Malone (James' coach) complained: "This is the worst basketball game in history! I don't know if the NBA All-Star can be saved." "It's true that I can't even watch my own people in such a game.

Ahead of this year's All-Star break, Bucks coach Doc Doc Doc Doc Doc Doc T Anyone can get injured when they go to the basket, you can't predict that. Increasing the intensity while trying to avoid injuries is the direction of the All-Star Game.

The United States vs the world is more eye-catching?

After the 2023 All-Star Game, many media outlets have discussed how to reform the All-Star Game to regain the attention of fans. At that time, there were media suggestions to return to the East-West confrontation model, which is also the way the NBA tried this year. There are also some media outlets that suggest splitting into a world team and the United States team to play against each other, which may be more interesting.

CBS Sports has pointed out that the NBA is an increasingly global league. The last five MVPs have been won by players born outside the United States. International players often mention wanting to play against the U.S. in international competitions and how rewarding it is to beat them. Furious at the U.S. team's failure to win a medal at the FIBA World Cup, James tried to invite the league's greatest stars to join him at the Paris Olympics. Pride in the international arena is a powerful force. The All-Star Game becomes Team USA vs Team World, which can bring more competition to the game.

The depth disadvantage of international players is a major concern, though. Although four of the five players named to the NBA's All-NBA First Team last season were not native Americans. But in last season's All-Star Game, there were only 8 international All-Star players, and in this season's All-Star Game, the number has been reduced to 6, and if you have to get together 12 international stars to play, the gold content of the All-Star will decrease, which does make it difficult for Team USA vs Team World to become a reality on the All-Star stage.

Of course, no matter how the format changes, it will be the top stars in the league who can appear on the All-Star stage. Only if they take this game more seriously will the quality of the game improve.

Back to the 2003 All-Star Game mentioned above, which is the highest-rated All-Star Game in the past 20 years. The game went into double overtime, and the West defeated the East 155-145. The two teams made 246 shots, of which only 49 were three-pointers, accounting for 19.9%, and made a total of 51 free throws. From this data, some answers may be drawn as well.

In yesterday's single event, the NBA has sought to innovate and added the Curry vs Ionescu cross-league three-point game to attract attention, and the effect is indeed obvious. According to the data, a total of 10 million viewers across the United States watched on TNT, truTV and B/R Sports, an increase of 54% from last year, and the most watched "All-Star Saturday Night (local time)" in four years. Will today's All-Star Game get a similar ratings boost?