What if the All-Star Game changed to a USA vs. World format?
Basketball has exploded in popularity over the last three decades.
The budding legacy built by the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, and Yao Ming has given rise to a new generation of inexhaustible international talent. The 2016 NBA Draft introduced a record-setting 26 foreign players, and more top prospects are on their way with the likes of Luka Doncic and R.J. Barrett favored to go No. 1 overall in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Even the style of NBA basketball has gravitated away from its American roots of relying on power and athleticism. The so-called modernization of basketball largely describes an embrace of European philosophies that prioritize outside shooting and pace.
The result is that basketball is no longer strictly an American sport dominated by Americans, as evidenced by the seven players in Sunday's All-Star game who were born internationally. No individual country comes close to threatening the United States for basketball supremacy, but the gap between the U.S. and the world at large is closing.
That trend has been made apparent ever since the league changed the Rising Stars Challenge from a Team Rookie vs. Team Sophomore event into a Team USA vs. Team World format. Save for a narrow three-point loss in 2016, the World has largely dominated with a collective four-year score of 580 to 534.
This leads us to ask, what if the All-Star Game also received a similar rebrand wherein the top 12 players from the United States faced off against the top 12 players from across the globe?
Team World roster
| Guards | Wings | Bigs |
|---|---|---|
| Kyrie Irving | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Joel Embiid |
| Goran Dragic | Ben Simmons | Karl-Anthony Towns |
| Jamal Murray | Nicolas Batum | Kristaps Porzingis |
| Ricky Rubio | Andrew Wiggins | Nikola Jokic |
Team World is top-heavy.
Its frontcourt talent is incredible. Joel Embiid (Cameroon) is the second coming of Hakeem, Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic) scores at will, Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia) is the best stretch-five in the league, and Nikola Jokic (Serbia) just put up the quickest triple-double in NBA history.
The wings are passable. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece, by way of Nigeria) is the most fearsome two-way player in the league and a legitimate MVP candidate, while Ben Simmons (Australia) is quickly growing into a similar mold. Nicolas Batum (France) is a do-it-all wing, and Andrew Wiggins (Canada) can be a devastating scorer when motivated.
However, Team World is painfully thin in the backcourt. Goran Dragic (Slovenia) is a fringe All-Star, Jamal Murray (Canada) is still a sophomore, and Ricky Rubio (Spain) is a league-average starting point guard. They pale in comparison to their American counterparts.
That's why the rules were bent to put Kyrie Irving, who was born in Australia, on Team World. Irving has consistently represented Team USA during international competition, but this matchup would just be too lopsided without his presence.
Team USA roster
| Guards | Wings | Bigs |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | LeBron James | Anthony Davis |
| Russell Westbrook | Kevin Durant | DeMarcus Cousins |
| James Harden | Kawhi Leonard | Draymond Green |
| Paul George | Jimmy Butler | Kevin Love |
Team USA, as always, is flawless.
Its frontcourt is hardly anything to sneeze at. Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins could score 30 points and grab 15 rebounds in their sleep. Draymond Green is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Kevin Love is a prolific passer and outside shooter.
The wing rotation is unfair. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the top two players in the game, Kawhi Leonard is an MVP candidate and the league's most fearsome on-ball defender, and Jimmy Butler is cut from the same cloth. They can either downsize or play big, while sacrificing nothing by way of shooting, playmaking, or athleticism.
Team USA's guards are so solid that Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard, and John Wall will have to watch from home. Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook won the last three MVPs, and the award belongs to James Harden this year. Paul George is a nightmare on both ends.
How would it go?
If Team World can slow it down to a halfcourt tempo and run offense through their bigs, the game can be competitive.
It could conceivably field Simmons, Antetokounmpo, Towns, and Embiid all at once, and have a size advantage at four positions to dominate down low. Shooting and shot creation would be at a premium, but Irving is about as unguardable as it gets.
Team USA, however, has the flexibility to excel while playing any style, which is ultimately why it would win.
The Americans could run small ball and play impossibly fast with an unstoppable backcourt of Curry and Harden around the likes of George, James, and Durant. Or they could go big and field four 6-foot-8 wings in George, Leonard, James, and Durant around a dominant shot-blocker like Davis and just shut off every passing lane and switch everything.