We have officially received word on how the NBA will honor Kobe in this year’s All-Star game. There will 100% be a pre-game tribute and I’m sure much more, but for now we have this. They have restructured the game in a way that I think would make Kobe proud:
At first glance this just seems like a weird format that came from the mind of a 14-year-old 2K addict who drinks too much Monster, but I think it could really work! Of course the NBA could’ve just decided to make the East wear the number “8” and the West, “24” (which were the two numbers Kobe wore in his career), but they chose to take a more complicated route. One of the biggest complaints about the NBA All-Star game is that no one plays hard, which makes it boring. The big men can only shoot so many 3’s before it’s not funny anymore. But this makes it interesting. Guys will actually try to win this thing now. To be fair, with Kobe passing, I think we would’ve seen a spike in effort regardless, but these changes confirm they’ll try harder than usual. Obviously, teams are always supposed to put as much space as possible between them and their opponents, but now they have a goal to reach. And that goal for the leader after three full quarters is 24 points – in honor of the late, great Kobe Bryant.
We all know how a basketball game works: basically, you score as many points as possible in 48 minutes. There’s no limit to how many points you can score in a traditional basketball game…but in this game there is. Like I said, they will have a goal to attain – just 24 more points in the fourth quarter and the game is over. Remember running the mile back in middle school gym class and you got that little burst of energy on the last leg before the finish line? That’s basically what the best players in the world will get to experience (probably for the first time) on a basketball court.
Unless it’s a blowout (which I highly doubt) by the fourth quarter, the first three quarters should have the intensity of a playoff game. And if it’s a close game going into the fourth? Wooo is that gonna be exciting to watch. And that’s exactly what Kobe would’ve wanted. He never took a game off – even the All-Star game – so having the NBA honor his legacy by making this year’s All-Stars play as hard as they would in a playoff game is the perfect tribute.
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