By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
During the last days the whole basketball world was focused on the NBA All-Star Game. These three days everything else was less important than this. Should Euroleague establish also an All-Star Game?
Yes, of course
Basketball means show; in any given way and chance. As a fan you can admire a great pass, a dunk, a win or a championship title in the Euroleague but you appreciate more “the love of the game” specially in a game without the pressure of watching your team winning. Euroleague grows and improves its product every season but it’s weird that all these years the organization didn’t try to organize an All-Star Game. An event like this can expand the sport; lure people, who aren’t keen on it; make it more popular to the fans; produce earnings for the organization and the TV channels and create more interest for European basketball. The roots of basketball are in the United States and there the biggest basketball event after the finals is the All-Star Game.
No…
All these years FIBA organized four “Fiba EuroStars Games” (1996-1999) always during the period between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Before that, FIBA organized a lot of All Star Games. During the period 1965-1995, FIBA tried 26 different editions of All-Star teams. All of them played against a club or a national team usually for farewell games. Many stars of the European teams played in these games, but there were also many absences. It was a nice period for them to rest and take some holidays away from their teams. But of course if Euroleague establishes its All-Star Game in a proper way and pays attention to that event, everybody will “die” to take part.
Our conclusion: There is no reason to say “no”
Many leagues have established an All-Star Game during the season but these games are not highly regarded.
If Euroleague decides to organize a three-day celebration event with an All-Star Game, a three point contest, a dunk contest, a Game between the candidates for the “Rising Star” award and maybe a Game between legends of the European basketball, who could overlook that? The European basketball needs marketing pushes to explode its popularity worldwide and an All-Star Game would be just perfect.
Moreover, this can be held in big cities which don’t host a Euroleague team (like London and Paris) and this event could act as a sprinkler to the neutral fans’ interest.