The 2017-18 NBA season is well underway, and the league is still looking for ways to bring back the glory days when massive international stars turned professional basketball into a cash cow and even an agent of international relations. In those days, the NBA All-Star Game and its day-before draw, the Slam Dunk Contest, were must-see TV for countless basketball fans across the globe. Even people who may not follow all the teams and all the games tuned in to see larger than life superstars battle it out in, mostly, offensive showdowns..

1. NBA USING ALL-STAR GAME TO BUILD UP
RATINGS
RONN TOROSSIAN DECEMBER 18, 2017
The 2017-18 NBA season is well underway, and the league is still looking for ways to
bring back the glory days when massive international stars turned professional
basketball into a cash cow and even an agent of international relations. In those days,
the NBA All-Star Game and its day-before draw, the Slam Dunk Contest, were must-see
TV for countless basketball fans across the globe. Even people who may not follow all
the teams and all the games tuned in to see larger than life superstars battle it out in,
mostly, offensive showdowns.

2. But those days are somewhat in the past. Today, ratings are down overall, and
interest in the NBA is up and down. Sure, there are marquee players that fans love or
love to hate, but there’s not the crossover appeal of a time when NBA stars were
actually guest starring on TV shows and in Hollywood movies. Now, the league is once
again turning to its annual All-Star showcase in an attempt to re-energize the fan base.
Instead of the tried and true “East v. West” format of previous years, this season,
players will be able to “draft” their teammates. These captains may pick players from
either conference, and it’s this added drama that the NBA hopes to draw interest.
And the All-Star game could really use some drama. The West has been dominant in
recent years, winning six of the last seven, and scoring nearly 200 points last season.
The All-Star game has always been an offensive show, but everyone involved thought
that was a little out of bounds.
The change could not have come at a better time, as the West would have likely been
even more dominant this season. While the East still has the Cavs’ LeBron James,
former Eastern superstars such as Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Jimmy Butler
all now play out west. Adding even more intrigue, fan votes will help decide the
captains, though the easy bets are on Russell Westbrook and James.
Will the new format mix things up a little bit better? Will these offensive stars risk injury
to play tough defense in order to make the games a little more interesting and win back
the fan base? It’s like the NBA hopes so. Most remember that the real heyday started
with the slick offensive powerhouse of the Lakers faced off against the hardscrabble
hustle of the Celtics. Those Magic v. Bird finals series triggered a Renaissance of NBA
fandom. It could happen again if the league could find a way to spark some magic.
Ronn Torossian is the Founder and CEO of the New York based public relations firm
5WPR: one of the 20 largest PR Firms in the United States.