The 2017 NBA All-Star Game will be getting slightly tweaked and possibly for good measure. Last year, the 2016 NBA All-Star game almost featured then-Dallas Mavericks big man Zaza Pachulia as a starter for the contest. While Zaza is a solid NBA talent, he’s not exactly all-star material. So to help avoid a possible issue like this, the NBA is going to try something new.
They will be adding votes from the media and the players into the decision for selecting the 2017 NBA All-Star game starters. It could also be an excellent prerequisite for how players would vote for the end of season awards, something the players also do with the NBPA player’s awards. This is an adjustment the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver have been considering for a long time.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported the following.
The NBA is introducing significant changes to its All-Star balloting procedures that will give players and members of the basketball media a say, alongside fans, in voting for All-Star starters.
Fans will continue to account for 50 percent of the vote total for All-Star starters, with players and a panel of media members accounting for 25 percent each.
Players and select media members will be eligible to complete one full ballot each, with players indeed able to vote for teammates or themselves if they wish.
The NBA also officially made the announcement.
For first time ever, players & media will join fans in selecting All-Star starters! #NBAAllStar Voting presented by @verizon tips off 12/25 pic.twitter.com/CnVTY7ZWlD
— 2017 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) December 19, 2016
