With the all star game having its biggest format change in forever there is no way we couldn’t talk about it. If you want to read the official explanation it is below from the nba website, but basically each of the first 3 quarters starts 0-0 with the winning team of each winning money towards Chicago based charities. In the final quarter to honour Kobe the scores of all the quarters will be added together and the 24 point will be added and that will be the target final score with no time limit in the 4th. So the team who is winning heading into the 4th will only have to score 24 points.

For me honouring Kobe is great but let’s be honest 24 points to these players is nothing so although the 4th quarter being untimed it will be very quick unless the teams go out there to play hard defence. I hope this is the case and the 4th is the most entertaining aspect of the game, I would like to think each player would go out there with the Mamba Mentality and honour Kobe in the only way that is right, which is playing as hard as possible and going out there to win.

It is an exhibition match and the majority of things are set up to go to a good cause. Let me know what you think of the new format! I look forward to watching it on the 16th.

**The NBA announced a new format for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game designed to increase the level of competition throughout the game, provide additional excitement at the finish and make the outcome of every quarter count for charity.

The changes include a new fourth-quarter format that will honor the late Kobe Bryant, who earned 18 NBA All-Star selections and a record-tying four NBA All-Star Game MVP awards. Additional plans to honor Bryant during NBA All-Star 2020 in Chicago will be announced at a later date.

In the 69th NBA All-Star Game, Team Giannis and Team LeBron will compete to win each of the first three quarters, all of which will start with the score of 0-0 and will be 12 minutes long. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game clock will be turned off and a Final Target Score will be set.

The Final Target Score will be determined by taking the leading team’s total cumulative score through three quarters and adding 24 points – the 24 representing Bryant’s jersey number for the final 10 seasons of his NBA career. The teams will then play an untimed fourth quarter and the first team to reach the Final Target Score will win the NBA All-Star Game.

For instance, if the cumulative score of the first three quarters is 100-95, the Final Target Score would be set at 124 points. To win the NBA All-Star Game, the team with 100 points would need to score 24 points in the fourth quarter before the team with 95 points scores 29 points, and vice versa. With no minimum or maximum time on the clock in the fourth quarter, the NBA All-Star Game will end with a made basket or a made free throw.**