The 2023 NBA All-Star Game happened in Salt Lake City, and there was a lot of hype for the weekend. The Dunk Contest had a big surprise in Mac McClung, the Three-Point Contest was fun, and even the All-Star Celebrity Game had some fantastic moments. But the All-Star Game itself was not what many fans expected it to be.
Even the people who participated in the game weren’t too happy. After it was over, Coach Mike Malone called it the worst basketball game ever played. Jaylen Brown built on that by saying it wasn’t even a game. The lack of effort and defense was quite appalling, and it was evident that only one or two players cared. And while people have been wondering how it can be fixed, JJ Redick explained why the players maybe don’t care so much about it.
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“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.”
This is a fair point, there are All-Stars who have made it abundantly clear that they couldn’t care less about the game itself. Nikola Jokic even admitted after the game that he wouldn’t draft himself because he doesn’t care that much about it. With the situation being this bad, one does have to wonder how the NBA will fix its product.
Can The All-Star Game Be Fixed?
Adding a charity component to the game helped make it competitive some years ago, but it didn’t matter this time. The discrepancy in fouls on the floor between 2023 and 30 years ago shows that defense is no longer played. That in itself will make the product inherently non-competitive.
With players’ schedules already so tight that load management is becoming more common and talked about, it’s hard to see them really caring to play hard in the All-Star Game. But one way or the other, if the NBA wants fans to keep tuning in to the Weekend, some serious changes will need to be made.
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