NBA great Carmelo Anthony poses suggestions to fix All-Star Weekend

Furthermore, the previous three NBA All-Star Games have all averaged under 6 million viewers — the only three in NBA history that have not surpassed that threshold.

In light of the underwhelming reception to the once-cherished event, many have begun spitballing ideas to improve the product. During the Feb. 20 episode of his podcast "7PM in Brooklyn," NBA legend Carmelo Anthony chimed in with a few ways to restore the prestige of All-Star Weekend. 

Part of Anthony's pitch is for the NBA to conduct an American-exclusive, superstar-headlined Slam Dunk Contest.

"There's 450 players in the league," Anthony said. "There's no way [the NBA] can't get four out of 450 players that people will want to come and see. You can't compare times and eras but when you talk about bringing the nostalgia back. The years when it was MJ, Dominique [Wilkins] and Spud Webb, the dunk contest was bigger than the game." 

Anthony added that the popularity of the Slam Dunk Contest can return by including more star power.

"We can get that [popularity] back," Anthony continued. "The ones that should do it, should do it. Ja [Morant], Ant [Edwards] and Zion [Williamson]... put Zach LaVine back in there. All-Star Weekend should be about All-Stars."

Morant and LaVine seem to agree with Anthony's assessment, as both high-flying guards expressed interest in participating in next year's Slam Dunk Contest.

After Mac McClung won his third consecutive Slam Dunk Contest, Morant shared on social media that he's considering entering the annual event.

Shortly after Morant posted the since-deleted tweet, former DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo shared that he would join the Grizzlies star in the Slam Dunk Contest.

While many would love to see the Bucks star join the Slam Dunk Contest, Anthony would rather see other stars in the event.

"No disrespect to Giannis but we don't wanna see Giannis in the Dunk Contest. This is America. We want to see the homegrown guys participate in All-Star Week."

Among changes he'd like to see in the 2026 All-Star Game and beyond, Anthony also called for a return to the East vs. West format.

"We gotta get back to picking out 12 West and picking out 12 East," Anthony said. "And going back to wearing our original jerseys. Wearing our team jerseys. Let's take it back to that."

Beginning in 1951, the All-Star Game used the traditional Eastern Conference versus Western Conference format. In 2017, the league switched to a draft-based format and used a tournament-style setup for this year's event. However, the NBA's efforts to add a creative flare to the All-Star Game format have not been well received. 

"To be honest, I didn't like it at all," Hawks guard Trae Young said, a member of Chuck's Global Stars. "I didn't like the breaks. The games were so short. Obviously, we can score. So, they're trying to, I feel like, trying to extend the game, extend the TV time with the breaks and things like that."

Celtics star Jaylen Brown also weighed in on the new format.

"I would say it's not ideal to stop like that if you want guys to be physical," Brown said. "I think guys were still out there having fun. All the OGs, team old knees and old backs, we came out on top, so I don't think anyone else should have had any excuses. It's definitely not ideal."

After experimenting with various formats, it's evident that most NBA players prefer a return to the classic East vs. West setup.

This year's tournament-style All-Star Game produced the second-lowest All-Star Game viewership in the last 25 years. The 4.7 million viewers was roughly a third of the record 13 million viewers who tuned into the 2002 All-Star Game. Additionally, this year's midseason showcase generated nearly 3 million fewer views than it did in 2016, the final season of the East-West format before the league switched to a draft-based format.

With both fans and players requesting a return to the old format, plus the declining viewership, the league should explore Anthony's suggestion to bring back the classic All-Star Game format.

Ultimately, the league will have to get creative if it wants to elevate the entertainment value of the once-popular event. 

Should it adhere to Anthony's counsel, a revival of All-Star Weekend could follow.