The NBA All-Star Game returned to an East vs West format this season after six years with captains choosing the teams, but that’s not the only classic touch players would like to see come back.
“I like East and West,” Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant told reporters after Sunday’s game. “I like playing conference vs conference, the traditional way that I grew up on. Hopefully we go back to playing in our own jerseys, too.”
Durant, a 14-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP, never had the opportunity to wear his team’s uniform in the midseason exhibition, though.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft missed the trend by just a few years, as the East players wore their team’s home uniforms and the West players wore their team’s road uniforms from 1997-2002.
In the year’s since, the designs have either connected to the host city and franchise or prominently displayed an oversized NBA or team logo on the front of the jerseys, which were usually in bold colors.
This season’s designs felt more traditional, however, as they pitted the Eastern Conference’s blue against the Western Conference’s red and included some local flair as a nod to the host city of Indianapolis.
Now, if only the teams would play defense like they did in past All-Star games, as this year’s 211-186 victory by the East was the highest-scoring game in league history and set numerous other records, including the most field goals (163) and three-pointers (66) made.
“The shot-making from the East was incredible,” Durant said. “Hard to play defense when somebody is shooting 30-, 40-footers. Great display of shooting tonight.”
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