The NBA All-Star Game is generally viewed as a matchup that features the best of the best competing against one another. However, in recent years, the game has lost a lot of its competitiveness.
Recently, Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray called out the stars participating in the All-Star game for not playing hard. He noted that he used to love watching Vince Carter in competitive All-Star games.
Jamal Murray on the All-Star game: “No one was playing hard. I used to love watching Vince back when it was competitive and guys used to hoop and guys wanted to hoop.”
“I play hard. I’m going to go out there and play hard and have fun. That’s the only way I know how to play. You…
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) February 22, 2023
“No one was playing hard. I used to love watching Vince back when it was competitive and guys used to hoop and guys wanted to hoop. I play hard. I’m going to go out there and play hard and have fun. That’s the only way I know how to play. You look back at all the stuff I’ve played in. Jordan Brand, Hoops Summit, Rising Stars. I’ve always shown up. Wouldn’t be any different at All-Star.”
There’s no doubt that a lot of fans also want to see more effort exhibited in the All-Star game, and we’ll see whether this situation changes in the future. It would be nice to see a competitive game between stars from all across the league, but it is understandable that they don’t want to risk their bodies for an exhibition game and get an injury late in the season.
JJ Redick Explained Why Players Don’t Try In All-Star Game
Previously, former player and analyst JJ Redick explained why NBA players don’t try to be competitive during the All-Sar game. He pointed out that the game is a “spectacle”, and that the “game preparation” needed for the game to be competitive doesn’t exist at All-Star weekend.
“The game itself, it’s a f**king spectacle, dude,” Redick said. “By the way, I love the draft right before the game. You got the draft right before the game, then there’s a Post Malone concert. It’s not meant to be competitive…
“How All-Star Weekend is set up, how the day of the game is set up, how the pre-game is set up… The game preparation to get yourself in a place to compete does not exist at All-Star Weekend. Doesn’t exist.”
It will definitely be interesting to see if the NBA manages to implement some changes to make the All-Star game more competitive in the future. There are definitely ways to make it happen, and hopefully, the league manages to come up with a solution.
Though this year’s All-Star game clearly fell short of expectations, perhaps it will be better in the future. All that needs to happen is a competitive contest, and perhaps that will happen next year.
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