The battle between the Eastern and Western Conferences is no more. The NBA has recently changed the traditional format for the annual All-Star game. Usually, the All-Stars for the East and West are voted on separately to represent their respective conferences. However, for the past couple of years, the Western All-Stars have been coming out as champions, and avid basketball fans have been requesting a break from the traditional way teams are made.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry (30), slam dunks in the 2016 All-Star game, in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George (13). Photo Courtesy of Mark Blinch of The Canadian Press.

Twenty-four players will still be chosen to play in the All-Star game, with 50 percent of the votes by fans, 25 percent by coaches, and the remaining 25 percent by the media. Except this year, the NBA goes one step further by adding captains to the mix. These captains will be determined by whoever gets the most votes in each of the two conferences, and will choose from a pool consisting of the remaining 22 players. For example, if these rules were implemented last year, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, and Lebron James of the Cavaliers, would have been the two team captains.

However, this is not all. Now, the two teams will also represent their own charity. The charities will all be Los Angeles based, with all the money going into improving life in the city.

Chris Paul is the president of the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association), which is an organization that basically ensures that the NBA players are treated with justice and protects their rights. Paul, currently point guard of the Houston Rockets, helped influence this change in the NBA format. In the official release of the NBA, Paul says, “I’m thrilled with what the players and the league have done to improve the All-Star Game, which has been a priority for all of us. We’re looking forward to putting on an entertaining show in L.A.”

The 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend is set to take place in Los Angeles, California.

By: Katalina deLeon’19, Staff Writer