US vs. World in NBA All-Star Game has some player support

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US vs. World in NBA All-Star Game has some player support originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Victor Wembanyama has already gone up against the U.S. in international events, most notably last year’s Paris Olympics when he led France’s march to the gold medal game against the Americans.

He’d like to be in that position more often — maybe even annually. And Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo loves that idea as well.

In the ongoing search for the right NBA All-Star format, there was plenty of talk this weekend in San Francisco about an idea that has picked up some momentum in recent years: The U.S. on one side, the world on the other side.

Count Wembanyama — San Antonio’s 7-foot-4 All-Star center from France — as a fan of that notion.

“I would love to. My opinion is that it’s more purposeful,” Wembanyama said. “There’s more pride in it. More stakes.”

Antetokounmpo was even more succinct when asked if he’d be on board with such a move.

“I would love that. Oh, I would love that,” said Antetokounmpo, a native of Greece who is of Nigerian descent. “I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I’d take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.”

The latest format for the All-Star Game — a four-team, three-game mini-tournament with all games being of the first-to-40-points-wins variety — debuted Sunday night, with Shaq’s OGs winning the title.

The NBA decided to try the tournament approach, which mimics what was already in place with the Rising Stars event for first- and second-year players, after years of openly asking for more competitive games.

And the 211-186 final score in 2024 was the last straw.

“I think that when you get events like this, All-Star Weekend, we don’t worry about the competition,” said 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns. “It’s just more about celebrating the basketball family and the community around this time. It shows how united we are as a group, as a basketball community, and how we can unite the rest of the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/us-vs-world-nba-star-155612259.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2025-02-17 15:56:00

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