NBA All-Star Weekend marks the halfway point of the season, offering the league a chance to reward fans by showcasing marquee events like the Rising Stars Game, the Three-Point Contest, the Dunk Contest and, of course, the All-Star Game on Feb. 16. While the annual weekend event has delivered some of the memorable moments in history, recently, it’s taken a plunge for the worse.
The All-Star Game, the centerpiece of the weekend, traditionally features 24 of the league’s best players, selected through a combination of fan, media and player voting—12 from each conference. Five players from both the Eastern and Western Conferences are honored as starters, recognizing their standout performances in the first half of the season. Then, on Sunday night, the East and West face off in a highly anticipated showdown, allowing fans to watch the best of the best compete.
However, in recent years, the game has lacked effort. It has become notorious for being an hour of some of the world’s greatest athletes jogging up and down the court with little competitiveness. To address the issue, the NBA introduced a new format this year, shifting from the traditional East vs. West matchup to a four-team tournament. While the player selection process remained the same, TNT’s Inside the NBA hosts were given the task of drafting three teams of eight, while the fourth team was composed of the winners of the similarly formatted Rising Stars Game, which features the league’s top rookies and sophomores.
The draft was widely perceived as scripted, with teams conveniently divided into clear categories. Team Shaq, Team Chuck and Team Kenny were later labeled as Shaq’s OGs, Chuck’s Global Stars and Kenny’s Young Stars, respectively. Candace Parker then coached the Rising Stars winners, forming Candace’s Rising Stars. Each game would be played to a target score of 40.
On the day of the event, LeBron James withdrew due to “ankle soreness,” likely missing one of his final All-Star appearances, a decision that frustrated many fans. Despite the initial buzz surrounding the new format, disappointment quickly set in. The four-team bracket, intended to increase competitiveness, still resulted in sluggish, low-effort play, with only a handful of standout moments scattered throughout. The new four-team bracket style that was supposed to encourage competitiveness yielded games that were still sluggish with just a few bright moments sprinkled here and there, like every year. Meanwhile, the actual games were shorter than usual and the broadcast was cluttered with excessive promos, celebrity appearances and Kevin Hart’s off-color jokes.
With many NBA legends nearing the end of their careers, the league faces a crucial moment in defining its next era. Yet, instead of using the All-Star Game to spotlight rising stars and celebrate the game’s brightest talents, it remains a spectacle that is short on the one thing everyone wants to watch—pure hoops. If the NBA truly wants to restore the excitement of All-Star Weekend, it must prioritize the game itself before fans stop watching altogether.
