Except for the NBA Finals, the NBA All-Star weekend is the most highly-anticipated event of the NBA season. Among its events, the NBA All-Star Game held on Sunday is the crown jewel of the three-day festivities.
Aside from a packed house crowd at the venue, it always drew a massive TV audience. However, since the turn of the millennium, the NBA’s All-Star Game ratings have dropped considerably. And the numbers have plummeted since Michael Jordan last appeared in the game.
MJ’s last All-Star Game is the most watched in the last two decades
Only the 2002 and 2003 NBA All-Star games had a viewership of at least 10 million in this century. The 2002 game held at the First Union Center in Philadelphia is the 9th most viewed All-Star Game ever with 13.103 million viewers. Meanwhile, the 2003 game at the Philips Arena in Atlanta is the 10th most-viewed All-Star Game ever, with 10.829 million viewers.
Interestingly, the 2003 All-Star Game was the last one where Michael Jordan played since he retired for good after the 2003 NBA season. After that, the most watched All-Star Game was in 2011, held at Staples Center and hosted by the L.A. Clippers. That game had 9.1 million viewers tuned in.
Since that year, the NBA All-Star Game viewership has plummeted even further, with only the 2013 edition reaching 8 million viewers. Meanwhile, three out of the last four All-Star Games have failed to top the 7 million mark, with last season’s 2023 games being at an all-time low with a mere 4.6 million TV audience.
Adam Silver promises an overhaul of the All-Star Game
Last June, NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted the plummeting ratings and vowed to overhaul the All-Star Game to recapture the lost audience. That began by reverting to the East versus West format this year. Silver even looks at other possible formats to spruce up the league’s midseason classic.
“An idea that’s come up in the past is doing the Ryder Cup style, except not just the US versus Europe, [rather] the US versus the World,” Silver said. “One of the reasons we hadn’t done that historically was there’s an imbalance because even as the number of international players grows, it’s still far less than half. But I think to me as we look to make it more engaging for fans, that shouldn’t be the sole reason we don’t do it. I think we could add additional All-Stars. There’s something we could do.”
It will be interesting to see how Sunday’s game in Indianapolis will fare regarding TV ratings. And it will be even more interesting to know how the NBA will take it from there. The 2025 NBA All-Star weekend will be held at Chase Center, marking the event’s first return to San Francisco since the 2000 event at the Oakland Arena.
