NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sheds light on concerns facing USA vs International All-Star Game: "We may be just past the point"

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has given his take on the potential USA vs. International All-Star Game. The idea has been brought up in the past few years, especially with the rise of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and other international players.

Silver joined ESPN's "NBA Countdown" for the pregame coverage of Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals. Michael Wilbon asked about the possibility of USA vs. The World in the NBA All-Star game. Here's what the commissioner said:

"My concern about US vs. International is that we may be just past the point where guys and teams are incentivized to play a competitive All-Star Game in the middle of the season. It's the nature of the league. I looked back at last year, honestly, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, others spoke to the players before the game. I don't think any of them said out thinking we're just not gonna play hard. It's a group dynamic that takes over."

Adam Silver added that the NBA might look into a different way to make the All-Star Game more entertaining. Silver mentioned the success of the 3-Point Challenge between Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty.

The commissioner even called it the highlight of this year's All-Star Weekend in Indiana. With Caitlin Clark's arrival, the league might look into expanding the format and capitalize on the growth of the WNBA.

As for the NBA, fans will always clamor for competitiveness in the All-Star game. The league has tried several options to make the players care, but Silver might be right in a way that the players are past the point where they will play hard in an exhibition game in the middle of the season.

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Adam Silver discusses potential NBA expansion teams

Adam Silver discusses potential NBA expansion teams

In addition to fixing the NBA All-Star Weekend, Adam Silver is also tasked with expanding the league. There has been talk of expansion teams over the past few years from Las Vegas to Seattle and other cities outside the United States in Canada and Mexico.

Silver appeared on NBC Sports Boston's "Celtics Pregame Live" last Sunday and was asked about the potential of adding two or more teams.

"There's been some discussion about going back to Seattle, potentially. Las Vegas, no doubt, is very interested in a team. Mexico City one day. But there's lots of other U.S. cities and Canadian cities, frankly, that have reached out to us to tell us they'd be interested," Silver confirmed.

Las Vegas has been a destination for sports teams with the Aces in the WNBA, the Raiders in the NFL and the Golden Knights in the NHL. Even the Oakland Athletics will relocate to Las Vegas in the MLB. As for Seattle, fans have been clamoring about bringing back the SuperSonics.