NBA unveils new All Star format, includes nod to Kobe Bryant

No Charlotte Hornets are going to make the All Star game this year, but that’s okay. The NBA has unveiled a new format to the game with the hopes that they’ll make the game more competitive and exciting. It also features a special tribute to the late Kobe Bryant (it’s so weird to type those words).

Here are the new rules:

• Each team will represent a Chicago-based community organization.
• Every quarter will be a mini-game. The team that wins each quarter will get $100,000 donated to the charity they represent.
• The scores will be reset to 0-0 at the start of the second and third quarters (to make the whole mini-game thing work).
• The scores will be restored to start the fourth quarter, i.e. if one team scores 35 in each of the first three quarters, they’ll start the fourth quarter with 105 points.
• 24 will be added to the leading score after three quarters, in honor of Kobe Bryant. That number is the target score. First team to hit that score wins and has another $200,000 donated to their charity. For example, if the score is 105-100 after three quarters, the first team to reach 129 points wins the game.

These changes should make the game a little more competitive as teams are performing for charity. The fourth quarter will have kind of a pickup game feel as the team’s approach a winning score with no clock to worry about.