The NBA has been desperately trying to spice things up as the All-Star Weekend has fallen down in the ratings in recent years, changing the competition’s formats and including various entertainment activities to attract more fans, but most players seem to agree that fans want to watch competitive basketball.
This Sunday’s championship game, in which Shaquille O’Neal led Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant and defeated Charles Barkley’s team comprised of Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, featured too many breaks and stoppages.
Most came from comedian Kevin Hart, who entertained the crowd at Chase Center with commentary. “To be honest, I didn’t like it at all,” said Atlanta’s Trae Young. “I didn’t like the breaks. The games were so short. Obviously, we can score. So, they’re trying to, I feel like, trying to extend the game, extend the TV time with the breaks and things like that.”
All Star game was a DISASTER bruh
Even SGA was tired of Kevin Hart yapping and wanted him to STFU so they could play ball.
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) February 17, 2025
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shared a similar sentiment: “But I had fun, nonetheless. I feel like it was a little bit more towards the competitive side tonight, which is a good feeling, a step in the right direction. I guess it’s up to the guys that handle all that stuff to figure out what’s next and how to keep making it more and more interesting. Hopefully, we get there one day.”
Boston’s Jaylen Brown simply called it “not ideal” if fans want to players to be physical. “I think guys were still out there having fun,” he said. “All the OGs, team old knees and old backs, we came out on top, so I don’t think anyone else should have had any excuses. It’s definitely not ideal.”
Curry went on to score 12 points in the final match and earned the All-Star Game MVP, and assured after the contest that he shared a lot of feedback with the league. “I did have some input and a lot of conversations with [NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] and the rest of the leadership on where we were last year,” the Warriors icon said. “We needed to change, needed some new life, new juice in the game, something kind of unexpected.”
Kevin Durant, on the other hand, simply said that the new format “took some getting used to,” while Golden State’s Draymond Green complained about the NBA’s decision to include first- and second-year Rising Stars players.
