The 2020 NBA All-Star game was one for the ages. There were plenty of format and rule changes that helped propel one of the best weekends in all-star game history, including other sports. Team LeBron won the game by two points off of a free throw and the NBA had people talking about the game over college basketball conference games and the NHL games. This was an incredible event. Let’s take a look at the new rule changes and format of this year’s NBA All-Star Game and what the players thought post-game.
NBA Coaches Can’t Coach Back-To-Back Years
Did you know that NBA Coaches can’t coach an all-star game for back-to-back years? The NHL has allowed fired head coaches to coach in the All-Star game, but the NBA is way more strict. The coaches for the NBA All-Star Game are the
...two coaches whose teams are atop each conference at the conclusion of play on Jan. 31.
The same coach can’t be named consecutive years and people weren’t happy presenting a dilemma a couple seasons ago when West-leading Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, was the West coach the year before and due to his health, assistant Luke Walton has been running the show until recently. Technically, naming Walton to the all-star game would mean an assistant coach was getting the honor over other head coaches.
The idea of a coach not being able to work consecutive all-star games is pretty weird. Imagine LeBron James not being able to play in an all-star game because he made it last year. The NBA If the standings don’t change, it should be the two head coaches regardless if they already went to
an all-star game the year before. How is this a rule?
The changes to the 2020 All-Star Game
The teams competed to win each 12-minute quarter in the new All-Star Game format. Whichever team had the highest score at the end of any given quarter won $100,000 for their designated Chicago-based charities. If the score was tied at the end of a quarter, the money would then carry over and is awarded to the winner of the following quarter, or game in the event of a third quarter tie.
The fourth quarter was a very cool commemoration for Bryant. The game clock was turned off and the teams played until one reached a 'final target score.' The target score was figured out by the leading team's cumulative score from the first three quarters plus 24 points. The 24 points were for Bryant's No. 24 jersey, which he wore for the last decade of his career. The target score for the night was 157, as Team Giannis led Team LeBron 133 to 124 entering the fourth quarter.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave credit to Oklahoma Thunder point guard Chris Paul for integration of the 'Elam Ending.' That was named after Ball State University professor Nick Elam, who wanted to have a different twist on predictable endings of games. The game's virtual shot clock displayed a combination of gold and purple accents when there were eight seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Silver announced on Saturday that the All-Star Game MVP award will be renamed after Bryant. 'Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game,' Silver said. 'He always
relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.' Kawhi Leonard was given the MVP award following a win by Team LeBron.
This year’s game finished with Team Lebron defeating Team Giannis, 157-55 off of an Anthony Davis free throw. Social media were buzzing after this game asking Adam Silver to take over as commissioner for the NFL and MLB. Some were unhappy that the game finished with a free throw while others defended the fact that a foul shot is still one point and will always have a place in the game.
After the game was over, we’ve compiled plenty of quotes from the players on what they thought about the new format and rule changes that were set after the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant.
Kemba Walker
Kemba Walker signed with the Boston Celtics during Free Agency after plenty of years on the losing side of the East with the Hornets. He loved this new format saying, “Yeah, I thought it was cool. I had no idea coming into the game, I didn’t know what to expect. As we played, it was great. That’s what everybody wants to see. They want to see a competitive game. That’s what it was in the fourth. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
Giannis (yonnis) Antetokounmpo (Adedo-Koonbo)
Giannis (Yonnis) has already experienced multiple all-star games and he's viewed as one of the top players in the NBA currently. This was his second season in a row drafting a team against LeBron James. He shared his experience with the game. “After the game, my brother came down, and he
said, this has been the most fun All-Star he’s been a part of. And I asked him why, and he told me, ‘Because you guys were really competitive. You guys were playing to win.’ Team Giannis, that’s what we were trying to do. We were trying to come out, set the tone, play hard. Especially in the fourth quarter, the defense got tighter. The guys were hitting one another. Every possession counts. We had a little bit of playoff intensity out there. So I loved it. I hope we can keep the same format for a lot of years, and I think people had fun, we had fun. So that’s what it’s all about.”
Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler looked like a villain going from Minnesota to the 76ers and then leaving for the Miami Heat. He looked like the bad guy who didn’t want to play with other superstars. Now it looks like Butler had a point with Minnesota and he had a point with the 76ers. Butler is dominating play in Miami and has taken over his own team. He had this to say about the All-Star game.
“It was dope. Damn sure got to compete at the end. It’s still fun to go out there and be known as one of the best players in the world in this league. Hopefully it stays like that.” Butler is well on his way to a couple more All-Star game appearances with the way he’s playing in Miami.
Joel Embiid
Butler’s former teammate, Joel (joe-el) Embiid (em-bed) had a fantastic weekend and agreed that the 2020 All-Star game was the best all-star game he has played in. “It was great. Fun
weekend. Probably one of the best All-Star Games ever. Guys competed. It came down to basically the last shot. I don’t agree that you should be able to win on a free throw, but overall it was a lot of fun.”
When asked if they should stick with this format for future All-Star Games, Embiid replied, “for sure. Besides the first quarter, I felt like everybody was playing hard. It was competitive.”
Kyle Lowry
Fresh off a 2018-2019 Championship, Kyle Lowry has been one of the most impressive players in the NBA lately. Lowry was really never thought to be an all-star point guard when DeRozan was around. He’s developed into one heck of a leader and player. He’s always had a mindset of winning.
Lowry explained, “We wanted to win. We’ll do anything it takes to win a basketball game. I think the format was great for everybody. The change helped the whole experience. I think it was one of those things where we innovated. In our league we always try to do different things, and it worked out perfectly.” Lowry is one of the most vocal athletes in today’s game and he has a great head on his shoulders. He’s right, everything worked out perfectly. His last 300 days have been special.
Anthony Davis
The all-star who finished the game, Anthony Davis, missed his first free throw in what would’ve already clinched the game. It took him a second foul shot to finish the job.
“I feel like playing in the end was a playoff game. It was a great competition. It’s 24 players who want to compete at a very high level and to do it in front of
a crowd like this. New format, everybody in the game really loved it. Like I said, it was a fun competition. It was great.” He continued about the new format, “It was great. We love it. It brings competition back, especially during the fourth quarter — it’s about getting stops. You have to get stops to win the game. It was great. We all loved it.
Then when asked if they should keep the new format, Davis said yes, “Absolutely. Of the seven I’ve been in, this has probably been one of the better ones. You actually have to compete. You argue with the refs. It felt like a real playoff game and that’s what makes it fun.
Kawhi Leonard
Of course, some people weren’t happy that Anthony Davis won the game on a foul shot but Kawhi Leonard didn’t understand why.
“I mean, it’s a point, so we can’t take out free throws through the whole game. They pretty much made the last six or seven free throws towards the end. They kept giving them. So do we want to minus those points as well? But the new format was good. I felt like it was fun in that fourth quarter.”
LeBron James
A reporter asked LeBron if this format lived up to what he was expecting. LeBron responded, “I didn’t know what to expect because it was a new format, new year. None of us knew what to expect. But throughout the whole fourth quarter and at the end of the game, everybody was like, ‘That was pretty damn fun.’ That was fun. Having to play for a set number and seeing that — I’ve watched a lot of
basketball in the summertime, and I forgot the name of the league where the guys, you know, their alma mater, they go back and play for their teams and things of that nature, they have a set number they have to get to that, that $2 million championship tournament. Maybe you don’t watch basketball in the summer.”
He was talking about the TBT tournament. Anyway, the reporter then asked James about the free throw winning the game and if free throws should be allowed to finish games. James responded,
“It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, you can win a Finals game at the free-throw line. There’s a lot of things that happen on the playground that you can’t do in our game too, where you can literally foul every single time and not get disqualified. I’ve been in games where you’ve won games at the free-throw line, and that’s all part of the game. If he would have missed both, no one would have been talking about it. It’s all part of the game, and it was a hell of a way to win a game just from an All-Star perspective.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul saw a very competitive basketball game during the All-Star game and was happy that he introduced a rule change to Adam Silver.
“I’m obviously biased. I don’t think it ever went anywhere. I know I’m always competitive whenever I play. But the good thing about our league is we’re always adding things and trying new things and trying to figure out from my fans what they like. This was an idea I brought to Adam. Thankfully, we tried it out, so I
was asking the guys how they enjoyed it during the game and at the end of the game. So you all be sure to ask him.”
James Harden
Westbrook’s Houston teammate James Harden chimed in with a much better answer. Remember, Harden and Westbrook were on different teams during the All-Star Game.
“It was different (than previous experiences) because being down, we had to get to a certain number. It made us play even harder to get to that number. There was no running the clock out. You had to actually score the basketball. No time — just shot clock and you gotta get a bucket. The charities, the fans, the game got exciting. I think the fans got more into it. It was cool. Everybody was so competitive, ready to win the game. We were coming up with different strategies every time to score, to get a stop. It was pretty cool to strategize on every possession.
Then a reporter asked if Kobe would have liked the competitiveness in the fourth quarter. Harden responded, “that was the competitive dog he was. He was a competitive beast. That right there made it.”
