This past weekend, the NBA held its 2025 all-star festivities. Commissioner Adam Silver once again changed the format of the all-star game.
Instead of the traditional East vs. West, there was a bracket-style matchup. According to reports, the all-star game averaged 4.7 million viewers. That was down 13% compared to their figures from last year. It was also the second-least-watched all-star game in league history. What can Adam Silver do to get viewership back?
Will the all-star game ever mean something to players again?
2025 NBA All-Star Game Averages 4.7M Viewers, Down 13 Percent From 2024 https://t.co/WBfvkmfZOk
— RealGM (@RealGM) February 19, 2025
Over the last 10 years, the NBA all-star game has become a major talking point. Back then, players would give maximum effort in the all-star game. It was an extremely competitive pickup game with the best players across the league. Since then, the effort level by players has taken a dramatic drop and it’s left the all-star game in a horrible spot.
Players do not care to give their full effort in the all-star game and it is reflected in viewership. Last Sunday, the all-star game was broadcast on TNT, TBS and TruTV. Viewership was down 13% compared to figures from 2024. The last three all-star games have averaged less than 6 million viewers. They are the only three all-star games in NBA history to have less than 6 million.
After another failed all-star game in 2025, everyone is chiming in with their an opinion. TNT’s Kenny Smith believes the league will switch back to the East vs. West format. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks there should be a Team USA vs. Team World format. The NBA needs to dig deep and find an answer to this problem. They’ve tried alerting the all-star game several times but viewership is still trending in the wrong direction. What is the next step for the NBA?
