Sports | February 18, 2018 12:39 pm

Should the NBA All-Star Game Be Replaced with a 3-on-3 Tournament?

ESPN's NBA writers propose a radical solution to Sunday's traditionally uncompetitive event.

Kyrie Irving #11 goes past Victor Oladipo #4 of Team LeBron during practice at the Verizon Up Arena at LACC on February 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

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By Jake Greenberg

Ahead of Sunday night’s NBA All-Star game, ESPN’s NBA writers tackled the problem of how to make the game more competitive. This year’s addition of the All-Star draft, which allowed team captains LeBron James and Steph Curry to select their own squads after the All-Stars were determined, suggests that more changes are not out of the question. The writers toss out several ideas — in-game trades would be particularly exciting — before settling on a 3-on-3 tournament to replace the lackluster conventional game. In the hypothetical new system, the eight top vote-getters would enter a draft to select their two teammates, and then the eight squads would face-off in a three-round, half-court tournament split between Friday and Sunday night. The idea would generate a pickup vibe to the festivities and make the eight-team draft a must-watch event.