The decision not to just hold an NBA All-Star Weekend in Atlanta, culminating in the game itself on March 7, is as confusing as Commissioner Adam Silver’s attempts to triple it. Last night Silver spoke to Within the NBA regarding the All-Star Game, and Ernie Johnson actually opened the floor and discussed his surprise before turning it over to Silver to explain his decision as to why the NBA needs an All-Star Game.
Silver’s response was “The fans.”
“All-Star is the # 1 fan engagement event for the entire season,” Silver told EJ. “For the competition, it’s a 70-year tradition, something like 100 million people will vote for All-Stars. The highlights coming from All-Star Weekend have historically generated close to a billion views. About 130 million people will watch the All-Star-Game worldwide. “
Silver went on to highlight the initially mixed reactions to the NBA’s March shutdown amid the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that the NBA “must ultimately be judged on our ability to operate during a pandemic,” not to stop during a pandemic. Anyone can be closed. And for us, when we go on track, whether it was The Bubble in Orlando or this season, to present the league as normally as possible. So for us, All-Star is part of our league, not unlike the games we play, and I’ll end by saying it starts and ends with the fans. “
You can listen to Silver saying ‘fans’ and just replace that word with ‘money’.
This message also comes days after the Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, requested that fans not come to town for parties during the usually festive weekend.
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Her statement read, “I have shared my public health and safety concerns with the NBA and Atlanta Hawks. We agree that this is a TV-made event only and people shouldn’t travel to Atlanta to party. There will be no NBA approved events open to the public, and we recommend promoters, clubs, bars, etc. Do not host any events in this city related to this game.
Well … you can see for yourself that, at least jokingly and or unofficially, that has already been ready started
Had the All-Star Game just stayed in Indiana, where it was originally planned, it may not be a problem. But Atlanta? W.We can’t expect Atlanta to be quiet about All-Star Weekend … It’s Atlanta
Still, as seen in a search above, as well as through this, Twitter leaves Silver the NBA’s decision to move forward with All-Star Weekend. This will certainly not go quietly, and as much as the fans are highly regarded for this event, it mainly indicates that the financial gain (from viewers, sponsors, monetized internet activities, etc.) is too tempting to pass up.After all, the NBA is a business. You can label this as misplaced, unsafe, or just plain tone-deaf, but the All-Star Weekend that goes on doesn’t make it the right or wrong thing to do; it just makes it American. You don’t have to be surprised.