The NBA returned to competitive action on Wednesday night, meaning the conversation can move on from All-Star Weekend and all of its flaws. But Brendan Haywood got a take in under the wire while appearing on Triple Threat with Ashley Nicole Moss Wednesday, pinpointing the exact moment where the league's annual showcase began to regress.
Haywood launched into a history lesson of sorts, correctly saying that the so-called faces of the NBA took the second half of the exhibition game very seriously and this set the temperature for everyone else. Something that ... is not the same today.
"You know when the quality of the All-Star Game really started going down? When Kobe Bryant retired. He held up the standard. Hey listen, Kobe Bryant got his nose broken in the All-Star Game. Picking up LeBron James, going back and forth with him because there was a level of competitiveness and Kobe always felt like 'hey, I got to carry the mantle that Michael Jordan handed to me.'"
"You know when the quality of the All-Star Game started going down? When Kobe Bryant retired."@bwood_33 says the biggest names in the NBA have been responsible for fall of the All-Star Game 👀
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 19, 2025
📺: Triple Threat w/ @AshNicoleMoss pic.twitter.com/nSqjU8UIf1
Haywood continued to say that no one stepped up to take the torch from Bryant, which seems inarguably true. A lack of passion and desire has caused that particular flame to stop burning so bright and the NBA's many attempts to fuel the fire have fallen short.
Hoping another person as competitive as Bryant suddenly materializes is not the best strategy because the league's been waiting for that since the great retired back in 2016. Of course, real success would not be having the All-Star game retain all of his past glory. At this point anything in a positive direction would be a welcome win.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Former NBA Veteran Pinpoints Moment All-Star Game Started Going Downhill.
