Courtside

Considering how big the National Basketball Association (NBA) has become, it’s hard to fathom that the league began with a two-man office. And as seemingly inconceivable as the setup may have been, it worked. In 1951, for instance, it produced the All-Star Game, ostensibly to combat negative perceptions about the sport brought about by a college point-shaving scandal. Under the circumstances, it helped that one of those who occupied space in the said office was a public relations practitioner; publicity director Haskell Cohen saw the benefits Major League Baseball reaped from the annual endeavor and acted accordingly.

Cohen knew the NBA hit the jackpot with the contest as soon as the gate receipts poured in. Even as attendance to regular season matches normed around 3,500 at the time, the All-Star Game, held at the Boston Garden, drew 10,094 warm bodies, to the delight of president Maurice Podoloff (in whose honor the Most Valuable Player Trophy is now named) and Celtics owner Walter Brown (who, it must be said, was so confident of success as to offer to make up for any possible financial hits). Never mind that the score wasn’t particularly close; when the final buzzer sounded, the East beat the West 111-94.

Fast forward 66 years, and the All-Star Game is slated for its first major makeover ever. That it has become part — but the most important part — of a bevy of activities forming the All-Star Weekend, so designed by the league in gratitude to fans for their continued support cannot be denied. That it isn’t always well-contested, and especially of late, cannot be denied, either. In this regard, current efforts to tweak the selection process should be appreciated. For the Feb. 18, 2018 set-to (and presumably onward), the East-West format will be retained only up until the 12 representatives from each conference are named. The top vote-getters from each conference will serve as captains and alternately choose, in streetball fashion, their respective teammates, first their fellow starters and then the substitutes.

The premise for the changes is obvious. Given that skippers get to handpick their teammates, all and sundry are expected to be more invested in the outcome, even if for bragging rights. This, as well as the parity that figures to be generated by the new system, should lead to a more competitive outing. And, certainly, it bears noting that the “refinement” of the methodology was borne of a collaboration between the NBA and the players’ union; stakeholders finally did something, and together.

Admittedly, there remains the potential for the All-Star Game to be less than compelling. After all, the alterations do nothing to address the glaring disparity in talent between the East and the West; based on advanced metrics, the latter conference should have more All-Stars. All the same, the NBA has at least underscored its willingness to buck tradition and back progressive measures. In this sense, it manages to pay homage to Cohen, Podoloff, and Brown for daring to dream once upon a time.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.