San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is the latest big name to be asked about the All-Star Game being revamped and he too isn’t a big fan of the change. Wembanyama promised in his press conference after the Spurs’ 114-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers that he would play competitively in the game and that he prefers the old format.
“I’m personally wondering how to put competitiveness back into the All-Star game,” Wembanyama said. “When I set foot on that court, though, I’m gonna be competitive for sure. But I don’t think nothing beats the old-school East-West format.”
Wembanyama’s comments aren’t too surprising when you consider the kind of competitor he is. The Frenchman has a bit of that old-school mindset where he is all business when he steps out on the court and you should expect him to give it his all.
What would be interesting to see, is how long this would last. Giannis Antetokounmpo used to take the All-Star game very seriously at one stage but with all those around him taking it easy, his mindset eventually changed as well. Hopefully, that won’t be the case with Wembanyama.
As for the new format, the NBA hopes to bring some competitiveness to the grand event with it. To say the recent All-Star Games have been disappointing would be an understatement and some change was certainly needed.
The change that the NBA came up with was to make the All-Star Game a four-team pickup-style tournament. Three of the teams will be composed of All-Stars while the fourth will be made up of the Rising Stars Challenge winners. These teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament, with the semifinals being played up to 40 points and the final to 25. Time will tell if this idea is a success.
What we can say with a great deal of certainty, is that Wembanyama will be at that game. The 20-year-old is averaging 24.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game for the Spurs in 2024-25.
Wembanyama has led his team to a respectable 15-13 record and unless they completely drop off from here on out, we should see him at the All-Star game. As for where we’ll see him next, it’ll be at the Wells Fargo Center, where the Spurs take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday at 7 PM ET.
LeBron James’ Thoughts On The New All-Star Game Format
LeBron James was, of course, asked about this change to the game and he had quite a diplomatic response. James stated that something had to change with the All-Star Game.
“Something had to change,” James said. “Everybody has their own opinion… but it’s different in a sense. We’ll see when we get there. It’s different and anytime you make some kind of change there’s gonna be some buck back. I have my ideas of what could work, but you have to do something. Obviously, the last couple of years have not been a great All-Star game on that Sunday night. But it’s a bigger conversation, it’s not just our All-Star game.”
The game will take place on Feb. 16, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco. If this new format doesn’t work out, perhaps the NBA can take some pointers from James. Ultimately, though, the success of this new format or any other that gets brought up in the future depends on the players themselves. If they take it more seriously, it will be more entertaining. If they don’t, well, every format will fail.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
