The All-Star Game was really special when I was growing up. No, they didn't actually compete or play defense in the '80s and '90s, either, but it was special because it was the rare time that East Coast kids like me got to see the likes of Fat Lever, Xavier McDaniel or Alex English ball with the best. The late-'80s Denver Nuggets or Seattle SuperSonics weren't on national broadcasts very often -- as you can fathom -- since there was no outlet for the product on cable.
Can you imagine how fun Twitter would have been on the night Isaiah Thomas froze out Michael Jordan in the All-Star game as a rookie?