Why Most Are Not a Fan of the 2025 All-Star Format
After last year’s all-star matchup, which ended with a staggering score of 211-186, a change needed to be made, but the way it was made hasn’t been received well. Players such as Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis have come out and ridiculed the new format, even saying that they would almost rather not play it. The game has changed every year for the past three, going from a draft and a score ending to a West vs. East battle to now a four-team tournament-style bracket, where the players have basically no influence on who they play. The game needed to be changed as it was becoming almost boring to watch, as said by former President Barack Obama, a man who won’t even be watching the game anymore due to its “brokenness.”
The new format consists of four teams, made up of the normal 24 all-stars, 12 from each conference, as well as the winner of the Rising Stars tournament, which also includes a roster of eight players. The three main teams in this new format will be coached by analysts, not coaches, which included Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Charles Barkley, and Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal. The game format is simpler, with each game being decided on the team to get to 40 points, a style much likely included to encourage a defensive mindset that hasn’t been seen in the game for five-plus years. The fourth team, which is made up of the winner of the Rising Stars game, will be coached by former WNBA superstar Candace Parker. As much as it makes sense what the NBA is trying to do, the players haven’t seemed to like the changes. LeBron’s reaction was one of the mild ones, stating how “The changes are fine… but in our game, there’s just a lot of three-pointers being shot. So it’s a bigger conversation than just this game.” Suns star Kevin Durant, on the other hand, gave much more ridicule to the format, saying, “Terrible -- All-Star Game format changing, all the formats -- terrible in my opinion," Durant even went as far as saying the format used normally and in last year's game of East vs. West should be implicated. Lakers forward Anthony Davis was the other star to bash it, stating, “I don’t like it… the four games, I don’t think players are going to like that, in my opinion.” Other former players and media members have discussed and trashed the game format for different reasons as well, saying how the players “still won’t try” or how the format takes away the purpose of even the title of an All-Star Game.
Commissioner Adam Silver knows there has to be a change to the game to keep fans engaged, but from the reactions it’s getting, it doesn’t seem like this was it. Silver has been getting ripped online over the past month for his job as the commissioner, with fans and media personnel blaming him for the declining viewership in the game as well as changes like this format. The problem of the All-Star Game over the last few years has been simple: it’s either a dunk or a three-pointer, both basically done uncontested. If the NBA and Silver really want to get fans to watch not only the normal game but the all-star festivities and the game, something needs to be changed, but the format that is now being tested doesn’t seem like the option to get the player’s buy-in on the defensive side of the ball. The whole weekend has struggled the past few years, with the iconic dunk contest becoming near unwatchable and the actual game basically being non-competitive, and with any more failures by the NBA, the weekend could simply become a dent in the season for players to rest instead of even showing up for such festivities. This year’s game is scheduled to be held at the Golden State Warriors arena in San Francisco on Sunday, February 16th, at 8 p.m. EST on TNT.
