The NBA has announced new rules to the All-Star Game, getting rid of the East vs. West format and having player captains pick their own teams instead.

In a press release, the NBA clarified the new format,

“Under the revamped format, two captains will draft the 2018 All-Star teams from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves, making selections without regard for conference affiliation.  The captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference.”

This new change comes after collaborative work between the league and the NBA player’s union. Houston Rockets point guard and NBA player’s union president Chris Paul said of the decision,

“I’m thrilled with what the players and the league have done to improve the All-Star Game, which has been a priority for all of us. We’re looking forward to putting on an entertaining show in L.A.”

The NBA has shown time and time again that they’re willing to change tradition and their product with the fans in mind. Remember when they suddenly had a new ball in 2006 and said it was going to make scoring go up? I mean, it didn’t work at all, and they scrapped the new ball after a couple weeks, but still, they try to do different shit all for the fans’ entertainment!

This new All-Star game format is interesting. There are already so many subplots in the NBA, now this adds a whole new wrinkle.

If LeBron is captain will he pick Kyrie? Will Russ and KD be on the same team? Who is going to be the last pick? Will friendships be hurt by the selection process? What if teammates end up playing each other in the All-Star game and beefing?

There will surely be a bunch of narrative with this new All-Star Game and the West is too stacked to do the old format anyways.

I know I’ll be watching.