NBA has an All Star game every year, Premier League does not want one

The 2024 NBA All-Star game takes place tonight in the United States, with some of the biggest basketball names will play against each other. Teammates could become rivals, and rivals could become teammates in this one game in the middle of the season. While the idea has been a normal thing here in the U.S., for football in Europe, it would seem like a waste of time that could risk their players in the middle of the season.

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The NBA All-Star game will feature a game between the Western Conference players and the Eastern Conference players. The Western Conference starter lineup will include Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns, Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets, and LeBron James from the Los Angeles Lakers. Big names like Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors and Devin Booker from the Phoenix Suns are in the reserves.

The Eastern Conference starters include Jayson Tatum from the Boston Celtics, Joel Embiid from the Philidelphia 76ers, Damian Lillard from the Milwaukee Bucks, Tyrese Haliburton from the Indiana Pacers, and Giannis Antekoumpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. While the NBA gathers the best players for this one-off game, European football could do something similar, like a star Premier League team vs. a star La Liga team. Many football coaches do not like the idea.

The MLS has an All-Star game every year, playing against European clubs for a friendly. They recently played a friendly against Arsenal last summer. Mikel Arteta was asked if he would be opposed to a Premier League All-Star game, and he said, "For me as an Arsenal coach to play against the MLS All-Stars - great! If you ask me the other way around, if it's in the middle of the season then probably the opposite if I had to let a lot of players go.”

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Chelsea owner Todd Boehly suggests a Premier League All-Star game, but Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp disagrees

Last year, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly suggested a Premier League All-Star game. Boehly said, "Ultimately, I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports. And really starts to figure out, why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four sports teams, why isn’t there an All-Star game? So we’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League."

Jurgen Klopp hit back and said, "He [Boehly] doesn't wait long. When he finds a date for that, he can call me. He forgets in American sports, these players have four-month breaks, so they are quite happy they can do a little bit of sport in these breaks. It's completely different in football.