Players sceptical of NBA’s new one-day All-Star Game tournament
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Kevin Durant (right) of the Phoenix Suns is one player who is not in favour of the NBA's new one-day All-Star Game tournament.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – Four teams, three games, one night.
That is the plan for the 2025 National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game in San Francisco, confirmed after months of discussion around the lack of competitiveness – and defence – in the 2024 event.
The NBA adopted a new one-night tournament with three teams comprised of eight All-Stars drafted to teams by former NBA players Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.
The fourth team, according to the NBA website, will be “the winning team from the championship game of the Castrol Rising Stars, the annual showcase of top first- and second-year NBA players and NBA G League standouts, which will be played on Feb 14 during NBA All-Star 2025”.
“I hate it, absolutely hate it,” Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant said on Dec 17 of the new format.
“It’s terrible. We should just go back to the East-West, just play a game.”
The 2024 All-Star Game was widely ridiculed despite reverting to the traditional East-West matchup from a “captain’s draft”, with the fan-vote leaders from each conference drafting two teams.
Criticism was mainly about the lack of intensity by players in the mid-season exhibition contest, so this new “semi-final to final” format is meant to increase competitiveness in a way.
Tournament games will be decided by the first team to reach 40 points.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated on opening night of the 2024-25 season that the NBA was committed to creating a competitive atmosphere for the All-Star Game, on the heels of an event-record 397 points in the 2024 event in Indianapolis.
The prize pool of US$1.8 million (S$2.4 million) is split based on results of the tournament in 2025.
Players in the winning team will receive US$125,000 each, with runners-up to earn US$50,000 apiece. The two teams eliminated with losses in their first game will be paid US$25,000 per player.
Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks was voted All-Star Game Most Valuable Player with 39 points in 2024 and launched multiple shots closer to half-court than the three-point line.
He said in November that the issue with the All-Star Game is an “effort problem”.
“The NBA has an effort problem with All-Star games, so what do they do? They build a format where non-All-Stars get to play against All-Stars, and shortens the actual game into a tournament where they only have to score 65 points to win.
“These guys are pros. Let’s stop this BS.”
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be staged on Feb 16 at Chase Centre in San Francisco, home of seven-time NBA champions the Golden State Warriors.
Voting for All-Star starters will remain the same with fan-voting counting for 50 per cent of the total and 25 per cent each going to current NBA players and a media panel.
NBA All-Star voting begins on Dec 19 and runs up till Jan 20.
REUTERS, AFP
