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Does the NBA need to change All-Star Voting?

No

By: Josh Schwam

Of course, letting NBA fans vote on accolades is a flawed system. In Major League Baseball, the winning league of the All-Star game gets home field advantage in the World Series.  It has a purpose and it encourages thoughtful voting.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with fans voting for players because the NBA All-Star game does not mean anything. There is no serious consequence of either conference losing it. There’s nothing at stake for the players or for the fans. Some NBA players will argue that the game should recognize other players besides just the ultra famous.

The NBA All-Star game is more of a popularity contest rather than a showcase of the best players in the sport. If one fan base shows out stronger than another and votes more consistently for their favorite players, those are the players that will get the honor of playing in the All-Star game.

The fans are the center point of all-star games for a reason. Big leagues like the NBA want the most revenue and fan-interaction possible from its All-Star game.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has missed time this year with an injury, but he will still be playing the All-Star game because people want to see LeBron James play. The fans love him, the media loves him and he brings in the most money. Give the people, not just the basketball snobs, what they want.

Unfortunately, the players have to try to find a motivational reason to be there. The NBA needs to work on motivating players to be excited, and they were fairly victorious by implementing All-Star captains last year. When the players are happy, the fans are delighted. Take away the ability for fans to vote and no one will find it fun.

Yes

By: Larry Larson

Fan voting for an All-Star game might be one of the dumbest traditions in professional sports. Every one of the four major American sports utilizes it for their All-Star game, and it almost always ends with talented players ignored and undeserving players finding their way on to the roster.

While you’ll find this year’s starting NBA All-Stars near the top of statistical leaderboards, there were still plenty of snubs.

Paul George’s teammate Russell Westbrook is on pace to average a triple double yet again, but finished behind not only Steph Curry and James Harden, but also Derrick Rose, who rarely starts on his own team.

The most popular players among fans will always be selected. Lebron James will play every All-Star game until he retires and so will Curry and maybe even Durant.

It’s disrespectful. In the current format, players like Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Utah’s Rudy Gobert will be overlooked, yet they’re all amazing players.

There’s a simple solution to this: leave the selections solely to the experts; this includes the players, coaches and NBA writers. Coaches already select the reserves, so why not keep that format exclusive?

In this format, smaller market players will have a better shot at starting, and the mega-market superstars will still start when they deserve to.

If the NBA wants to attract more fans to the All-Star game, then maybe they should open up an opportunity to players in cities that rarely get an All-Star selected. This would add some parity to the generally trivial tradition of Lebron and Steph leading their respective teams to 150 plus points in the Association’s mid-year showcase.

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