NBA commissioner Adam Silver attends Indiana Pacers game, announces changes to 2024 All-Star game in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. Ahead of the Indiana Pacers season opener, which he attended, Silver and members of Pacers Sports & Entertainment's executive team had announcements to make about the 2024 NBA All-Star game, which is being held in downtown Indianapolis next February.
Silver explained that the game will return to the classic East vs West format this year. "It's 'back to basketball' around the league," Silver said of the ongoing NBA themes. That applies to the All-Star game as well, and with the game being in a more traditional market next year, Silver thought it was a good change to make.
"We thought it was time, since we are coming back to such a traditional market as Indianapolis is, and Indiana, and all it means for basketball, that we were going to return to the classic format for our All-Star game," Silver shared inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. "This year, we will be featuring, as we had historically, it will be East vs West with the return to the four quarters, the same format that we're all used to for a basketball game," he added. The game will still contain charitable donations, but there will be no more Target Score at the end of the game.
NBA 2024 All-Star Game signage shown inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis on October 25, 2023. (Mandatory Photo Credit: AllPacers)
Originally, the All-Star game was scheduled to be in Indianapolis in 2021. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced a reschedule. Three years later, it's finally coming to Indianapolis. The All-Star game hasn't been in the Circle City since 1985.
On top of the game becoming intra-conference once again, the NBA has other initiatives in place to refocus on the game of basketball this season. One of those, for example, is the Player Participation Policy.
The commissioner shared that nobody was proud of the 2023 All-Star game. The NBA wants the league to be about the best basketball in the world, and Indianapolis makes him think about the roots of the sport, so he thinks it's the perfect city for a traditional game.
"I do anticipate these changes will make it more competitive," Silver said of the All-Star game. He thinks the switch back to East vs West is more symbolic, and the significance of the change is that it acts as a signal to everyone that a better product is expected.
On top of the announcement about the format change, Silver and Pacers leadership also detailed that NBA All-Star 2024 is projected to generate more than $320 million in economic and media impact. They also anticipate 150,000 ticketed opportunities for global fans during the All-Star festivities.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who participated in the All-Star game last year, likes the changes and thinks they could help make the game more competitive. "I think it's cool," he said Wednesday night of the switch back to East vs West. "The All-Star game was trash last year in terms of the competitive level," he added before noting that he hopes players can one day wear their team's jersey in the game again.
All-Star weekend festivities kick off February 16, 2024. After the announcement, Silver and other NBA figures sat courtside as the Pacers beat the Wizards.
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