Based on the COVID_19 pandemic, it is understandable why the NBA had to shrink everything down to one day. Taking that into consideration, I still have to say that the events were not exciting… at all. Outside of the 3pt Contest, which has become the best event in the spectacle, the All-Star “weekend” has become blah and predictable.
The dunk contest has become so weak, that has turned into a halftime show, equivalent to a fan shooting a shot from half-court. The game, over recent years, has been a hit or miss, a glorified pick-up game with absolutely no defense. I get it, it is for fun, and the league has done a good job using the event to give back to worthy causes. However, when the most exciting thing is reduced down to seeing who will hit the longest shots between Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry, it has to change.
At some point, the NBA has to sit down with the players and gauge their interest in participating in the events before it starts. This means adding some type of incentives in the dunk contest, that will attract the big-name high flyers like Zion Williamson into the game. That means adding some type of incentives that will translate into the regular season or post-season for the players or their teams. This is what Major League Baseball has done in recent years, by granting home-field advantage to the team that wins in their All-Star game.