Adam Silver felt he had to do something. For years, All-Star players — guys like Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker — have tried harder to avoid injury than anything else, which has turned the NBA’s All-Star Game into an unwatchable defense-free exhibition. Last season, the league went retro, returned to East vs. West, and the final score was 211-186.
So this year the NBA shook up the Sunday game: the 24 All-Star players will be divided into three teams of eight and they, plus the winning team from the rookie/sophomore Rising Stars game, will play in a four-team tournament with games to 40.
Durant, Davis and Booker all panned the idea. Durant pulled no punches, he hates the new format.
I asked Kevin Durant what he thought about the new format for the NBA All-Star Game: “I hate it. Absolutely hate it. Terrible….We should just go back to East-West.” pic.twitter.com/T7owR5aJY7
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) December 17, 2024
“I hate it, I absolutely hate it. Terrible. All-Star Game format changing, all the formats -- terrible in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West. Just play a game. I think we’ve been trying to bring that flare back somehow with All-Star Weekend, I think we just keep the tradition. We’ll see how this one works. You never know, I might be wrong, I’m just another guy with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works.”
Hey, Kevin, once again, the league tried the East vs. West thing last year and the players showed they had zero desire to make it competitive. So, the NBA tried to find a new format that might force some competition, and while I’m skeptical it works it’s better than doing something we know — that we saw a year ago — does not work.
Booker echoed Durant, via Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
“It’s change, it’s different,” said Booker, a four-time All-Star, after Wednesday’s practice. “I’m more into the nostalgia. I agree with Kev. I like East versus West with your own team jersey. I like the old jerseys. It’s whatever.”
The Lakers’ Anthony Davis, also not a fan.
Anthony Davis on the new All-Star Game format: “I don’t really like it. But we’ll see how it goes this year and see if they change it or not.”
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) December 18, 2024
The new format calls for 24 All-Stars — the same number as previous years, with the 10 starters voted in by fans/players/media and the other 14 selected by the coaches. Those 24 will be divided into three teams of eight, with one member of the Inside the NBA Crew (Shaq, Charles Barkley or Kenny Smith) serving as the GMs who draft the teams. Those three teams, plus the winning team from Friday night’s Rising Stars game, are put into a four-team knockout tournament bracket. The teams will play games to 40, and the winners of the first two games will meet in a championship game.
The way they have played this season Durant, Booker and Davis should easily all be in San Francisco for the All-Star Game. We’ll see what they think of the new format after playing in it.
