When asked how he’d fix the NBA All-Star Game, Nick Wright offered up a solution that’s sure to raise eyebrows.
“We just have to say,” the Fox Sports 1 personality told Bill Simmons during a chat on The Ringer this week, “you know what, PC headlines be damned, white guys vs. Black guys.”
The NBA All-Star Game has developed a track record over the last few years of providing a product that many basketball fans have found less than pleasing. Mega stars have opted to sit, and defense has become non-existent.
Things have gotten so bad, Adam Silver has attempted to assuage issues by overhauling the game with a mini-tournament of sorts.
But Wright said a battle between races might be the ultimate solution.
“I’m telling you right now,” Wright said, “guys would play f—ing hard. There would be a real edge to the game.”
Wright said in a few years, one of the rosters could feature Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Cooper Flagg, Austin Reaves and Kon Knueppel. That hypothetical team, he said, could one day be the key to a viewership spike.
“It would get a lot of attention,” Wright said. “And we are getting close to a place where it’d be like, ‘Oh, that’d be a good game.’”
For Simmons’ part, he called Wright “unbelievable” for the idea.
The latest iteration of the NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif. at Intuit Dome. It will feature three teams of All-Stars — USA Stars, USA Stripes and Team World — playing in a round-robin tourney for the title of ASG champion.