Anthony Edwards Sums Up Why The NBA All-Star Game Is Broken Beyond Repair

The NBA has done what it can to give players incentive to care about the All-Star Game, but it firmly failed in that quest based on what we were treated to this year—and it may be a hopeless cause based on what Anthony Edwards had to say after it wrapped up.

The NBA All-Star Game has a history stretching back to 1951, and while there was once a time when fans genuinely looked forward to a showdown featuring the most talented basketball players on the planet, it’s hard to argue that’s still the case.

It’s also hard to complain about the current state of the All-Star Game without sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud, but it’s impossible to deny the stakes have gradually been lowered to the point where they’re virtually nonexistent.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver did what he could to drum up hype for this year’s showcase by promising it would be a “good game” after the league reverted to the classic East vs. West format for the first since 2017.

Unfortunately, it was yet another textbook exhibition defined by a laughable lack of effort and an outright rejection of the concept of defense that saw the East walk away with the 211-186 victory when it came to a merciful end on Sunday night.

LeBron James admitted something needs to change after acknowledging the lackluster nature of this year’s All-Star Game, but when you consider the NBA has spent years searching for answers, you have to wonder if there’s really any tangible solution.

Anthony Edwards also chimed in on the matter after the contest, and his comments really summed up the issue the NBA has on its hands.

Here’s what he had to say:

“For me, it’s an All-Star Game, so I will never look at it as being super competitive.

It’s always fun. I don’t know what they can do to make it more competitive. I don’t know… It’s a break, so I don’t think everyone wants to come here and compete.”

Players theoretically have some incentive to care when you consider members of the winning team go home with $100,000 compared to the $25,000 given to those who lose. That’s certainly not a tiny number for most people on the planet, but it’s kind of a drop in the bucket for virtually every single person who ends up getting the nod.

Of course, the most obvious issue (and the one that’s the hardest to address) is the risk of injury that’s essentially correlated with the amount of effort guys who play in the All-Star Game exert.

Despite all of the kvetching we’ve been treated to from fans who are underwhelmed with the current state of affairs, that lack of effort is a major reason no players have suffered a serious setback in recent memory, and it’s hard to imagine the tides wouldn’t shift in an instant if a big name was sidelined for an extended period of time due to what transpired in an essentially meaningless tilt.

As a result, it might just be time to accept all-star games have simply lost whatever luster they may have had at some point in the past.