NBA All-Star Weekends have always been defined by their moments. Final scores or even Slam Dunk Contest results are remembered far less than the atomic elements of performance—the singular images, clips and memes that emerge and supplant themselves in the sport’s culture.
This year though, one of those defining moments was a little different.
Commissioner Adam Silver’s downbeat praise for the Eastern Conference All-Stars after their 211-186 victory Sunday—“Well, congratulations”—will likely go down as one of the most memorable pieces of the 2024 affair, putting whatever the opposite of an exclamation point is on the weekend.
By Monday, numerous media members were calling for an overhaul of the event, if not a total scrapping of it, given the lack of competitiveness on display amid midcourt heaves and easy layups.
But the All-Star Game, just like other leagues’ versions, isn’t going anywhere. Ratings might not be what they once were, and criticism could be hitting an all-time high, yet All-Star still manages to attract attention—just look at the volume of complaints!—and today, that’s invaluable. It remains a moment-making machine.
“We are in the business of moments and All-Star has continually and consistently delivered those moments,” TNT Sports chief content officer Craig Barry said ahead of the weekend. “It can be the camaraderie, it could be the personalities, it could be the musical acts. There’s always something that creates a moment at that intersection of sports and culture.”
The weekend is particularly valuable to TNT, Barry said, because the network is at its best when it’s operating at that very intersection.
Ratings for the weekend are not what they once were. Though Saturday night’s viewing—boosted by Stephen Curry and Sabrian Ionescu’s 3-point showdown—was up 31% from last year’s low, it remained below pre-pandemic figures. Game viewership was up 14% from 2023’s low to 5.5 million. Still, TNT’s first All-Star Game, a double-overtime battle in Atlanta in 2003, brought nearly twice that audience.
Partly though, that reflects changing viewer habits. “It remains one of the most engaged weeks of the year for us,” Bleacher Report GM Bennett Spector said. “We have never seen that go up or down wildly. It's been a steady up for us that more and more fans engage around All-Star Weekend every year.”
Curry and Ionescu generated one of B/R’s most-liked Instagram posts from the weekend, but so did Draymond Green and Charles Barkely’s banter, as well as Nikola Jokic and LeBron James chatting on the bench Sunday.
The NBA is increasingly in the tentpole business, growing gatherings like Summer League, the NBA Cup and the Play-in Tournament, in addition to the playoffs and Finals.
However none of those events can consistently deliver the star power of Curry, James and the like in a predesignated destination, scheduled years in advance. For the most player-driven league, that makes All-Star essential.
The weekend has also become a marketing showcase. The moments that matter most to Google cultural marketing lead Julia Cheney? It’s certainly not the defensive effort displayed on Sunday night.
“Our reason for being here is to get phones into the hands of fans,” she said from the company’s experience center in Indianapolis, as a marching band warmed up across the room. Pixel is officially the presenting partner of the NBA Playoffs, but it’s at All-Star where the company can attract the most potential customers to physically try the product. Once again this year, Giannis Antetokounmpo could also be spotted documenting the slam dunk contest with a new Pixel model.
A record number of other partners set up in the NBA’s fan-focused Crossover show floor, a 350,000 square-foot zone inside the city’s convention center, with similar goals in mind. A fragmented entertainment landscape has made reaching mass audiences increasingly difficult for consumer product companies—and made sporting celebrations even more enticing.
NBA head of event strategy and development Joey Graziano said All-Star festivities would provide more than $400 million in economic impact for the Indianapolis area, up more than 4x from when he joined in 2019. But more than the bottom line, it’s also the moments that stand out for him, individual examples of fan appreciation. Each, he said, “ensures that we've done something that's really special.”
The NBA took All-Star’s growing role as a brand platform literally this year, with an LED court Saturday night that could glow green or blue based on who was sponsoring each event. A year ago, Pepsi essentially introduced its new Starry line to the world at All-Star. This time around, the company added Antetokounmpo as an ambassador ahead of the Starry 3-Point Contest. Meta’s Quest 3 headset and Gatorade Water, meanwhile, were among the many new products being promoted all weekend long.
“We know that our fans are interested in what our players do off the court,” Tara Mulcahy, NBA head of global marketing partnerships, said. “That includes music, technology, fashion and lifestyle. And so all of these tentacles really do reach our global fan experience.”
Panini leapt at the chance to sponsor Friday’s Rising Stars game, given the obvious connections between trading cards and rookies. It also uses the weekend to meet with players and agents who have all gathered in town, as well as local distributors and retailers. Numerous league partners take advantage of the weekend to strategize alongside other companies who’ve come to town.
The allure of seeing stars in a more casual setting has disappeared since the dawning of social media. But the potential of seeing them all together is still novel.
“Every event has a different vibe to it,” Jason Howarth, Panini America SVP of marketing and athlete relationships, said from the company’s cozy lounge, as snow accumulated outside. “All-Star Weekend almost feels like a family reunion.”
Others compare it to a festival, given the days-long schedule packed with entertainment events. But of course, even the biggest music festivals still rely on their headliners to bring the house down.
We know the All-Star Game will be back—next year, the circus heads to San Francisco—though its future format now enters a period of doubt. Could money solve the league’s problem, or is a more creative solution in order? Apparently, pleas from Silver and Larry Bird were not enough this time around. The league also shortened introduction and halftime performances to no avail.
NBA leaders now are nearing decision time on the next round of media rights, which have the potential to shake up the status of the league’s tentpole moments.
What will the NBA do with All-Star next? If nothing else, it will be, well, a moment worth watching.
