New NBA All-Star format ‘way better’… but ‘unfair’ change sparks debate between players

Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘Team Shaq’ cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game, which had its fair share of both fans and critics.

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Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded line-up coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s ‘Team Chuck’.

Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting line-up that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden.

Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James withdrew from the line-up, citing a nagging foot and ankle injury.

But even without the 40-year-old James, the veteran line-up was always in control against opponents spearheaded by Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell.

Curry was named Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game, the second time he has achieved the accolade after winning the honour in 2022.

The NBA opted to shake up the format for this year’s All-Star game after mounting criticism of the annual mid-season celebration as being a meaningless exhibition game lacking in competitive edge.

The old Eastern Conference vs Western Conference format was scrapped in favour of a four-team mini-tournament, with each team managed by basketball greats O’Neal, Barkley, Kenny Smith and Candace Parker. Each game was played on a first-to-40 basis rather than in the conventional four-quarter format.

But this year’s new format failed to impress everyone.

Curry’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green — working as a television analyst for the event — lambasted the competition during Monday’s broadcast.

“It took all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done,” Green added.

“This is so unfair to Victor Wembanyama, who just took this game really seriously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just took this game really seriously.

“When you talk about chasing after the points record. Melo, Kobe, and all these guys who’ve had great scoring nights. They don’t get the opportunity to do that with this game. All so we can watch some Rising Stars… Now, we get the treat of watching the Olympic team play against a U-19 team.

“Come on, what are we doing? This is ridiculous.”

When asked by host Adam Lefkoe to rate the format on a scale of one to 10, Green said “zero”.

“(It) sucks,” added Green. “This ain’t basketball.”

The Rising Stars element of the weekend was quite divisive among the current All-Stars. While all players were happy to see some of the league’s youngest talents recognised, some questioned the move given All-Star Sunday had long been reserved for the best of the best.

“I’ve got mixed emotions about the Rising Stars part,” Tatum said.

“Obviously I’m happy for those guys but there is something to be said (about the fact) it is kind of a big deal to be an All-Star and play Sunday night.

“Some guys get snubbed and other guys work really, really hard to make the All-Star game. Playing on Sunday night is special and it always has been.

“I’m not saying that was the right or wrong decision. I think whoever we played in that first game, the new format would’ve been competitive.”

Even Rising Star Stephon Castle told reporters he was “50-50” on the format.

“I liked the opportunity for us to be able to go out there and play the All-Stars, but I feel like the All-Stars earned to play each other on Sundays too,” the Spurs rookie said.

But Curry, who was named All-Star MVP, revealed he had some input on the new format with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the leadership team, adding that he felt the changes were a “step in the right direction”.

“We needed a change,” he said.

“We needed some new life, new juice in the games, something unexpected. What that answer was was a collaborative effort to condense the amount of time you’re actually playing so that it gives us more clarity so we can raise our level of competition and keep it fun for everyone. I think that was a big part of it.

“Obviously there was a lot of conversation about the fourth team with the Rising Stars and the All-Star experience on Sunday is very sacred and you have to work your way into that but I think it was a good step in the right direction to re-invigorate the game in some way and then you tinker with it again next year and see what changes you can make.

“I don’t want to compare it to any other era because the world has changed, life is different, the way people consume basketball is different so it’s not going to look like it used to, but it can still be fun for everybody. I had fun. My team had fun.”

While Green obviously had a very strong opinion on the Rising Stars team’s inclusion and weekend as a whole, fellow panellist Charles Barkley offered an interesting rebuke as he put the onus back on today’s players for having “messed the game up”.

“I used the analogy, like, when your kids mess up the house you make them clean it up and they complaining. They messed the game up,” he said.

“That’s why we’re trying to kamikaze stuff out here right now. His generation messed the game up. So don’t act like he’s mad that they trying to use rookies… we’re doing every type of trick to make this weekend exciting.”

So, what did the other current All-Stars who played in Monday’s game make of it?

Well, it seems like the majority believed the games felt more competitive and echoed Curry’s sentiments that it was at least a step in the right direction, even if not the perfect solution.

Milwaukee star Lillard voiced approval for the format after helping O’Neal’s team complete victory in Monday’s final.

“I think they were just looking for a more competitive game and trying to find ways to create that,” Lillard said.

“I thought tonight was a little bit more competitive than it had been the last few years. I think that was the number one thing — provide a bit of entertainment and a little bit more competitiveness on the floor and it felt like we did that tonight.”

Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, said he thought the NBA “did the best they could” to make it competitive.

“There were a lot of commercial breaks and a lot of things going on engaging the fans, engaging the former players… we’ve just got to give everyone grace,” he added.

“I enjoyed myself. It was a great weekend.”

Durant said that having the teams racing to a number worked, although a few players agreed 40 was probably to small of a mark to be aiming for.

“Sometimes that brings out the competitive nature in a game, to get to a certain number,” he said.

“It was way better than it was before. The games were condensed but it felt like the guys were trying to play hard.”

Thunder star Jalen Williams said the games felt “a little quick” but also admitted that he actually did sweat, having not gone into the weekend expecting to.

“I would have loved to play a little longer,” the first-time All-Star added.

“Obviously this being my first time, I would like to just play longer. But you’ve got to win. This is the first time they’re doing it, so it’s not going to be perfect. But yeah, I wish we could just play a little bit longer.”

Jalen Brunson agreed the games were “kind of short”, but said he liked the format.

“Maybe just score to 50 maybe,” he added.

“But it’s interesting, something new like that. You never really know what to expect, but it was all right.”

It seemed like plenty of players, journalists and fans felt like the new format could have worked, but that the constant breaks for music performances and other segments made it hard to judge just how successful it could have been.

In particular, the long intermission in between the final game of the day for an ‘Inside the NBA’ tribute made it hard for the players to get back into a rhythm.

“The breaks, I guess, weren’t ideal,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“I would rather play with no breaks but I had fun nonetheless. I feel like it was a little bit more towards the competitive side tonight, which was a good feeling. A step in the right direction.

“I guess it’s up to the guys that handle that stuff to figure out what’s next and how to make it more and more interesting.”

“The format was cool. I think the toughest part was (when) they stopped the game to do the presentation when we were kind of halfway through it,” added Tatum.

“We were sitting down for like 20 minutes. Whatever it was, it was kind of tough to get back into it. But other than that I thought it was cool, the first two games were pretty competitive. I think (it is) just finding a way to not have as long of an intermission during the game.”

Meanwhile, comedian Kevin Hart’s appearances, and especially the fact he was making jokes during the games themselves, also had plenty of people talking online.