Getty Image
NBA commissioner Adam Silver may not have liked it. Anthony Edwards might think the NBA All-Star Game is broken beyond repair. Stephen A. Smith thinks the league should just do away with the game.
“I’m of this mindset right now. They need to do away with All-Star Weekend. Just get rid of it,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take Monday morning.
Dan Le Batard, however, defended the players’ ambivalence towards All-Star Games in general, in every sport.
“We got unreasonably mad at the All-Star Game,” Le Batard said, sparking a discussion on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Tuesday where it was pointed out that the game hasn’t mattered in like 20 years.
“I would like to point out to the audience that the All-Star Game, whatever All-Star Game you prefer, only exists because during the time of three channels in America, when your sports teams could only be seen nationally, maybe the occasional Saturday, before cable television, it was a big deal to have all the stars gathered in one place for a game,” Le Batard continued.
“But now we see them all the time everywhere, all over your social media, every night in the league, our attention span has changed. It’s no longer the time of Bird and Magic,” Le Batard continued.
“You need 10 things, the All-Star Game can be one of them and it’s going to feel like Zo’s summer groove, because they don’t want to be there! They’d rather not be working over the weekend. They know, you’ve got all the access to them.
“But it’s not a special thing anymore. They don’t have to get rid of it because the guys don’t care. They shouldn’t care about it anymore. It’s an artifact from a bygone age. It’s not needed anymore. It’s just getting in the way of the rest they’d like in the middle of the season.
“I will say this. They all want to be on the All-Star team. That matters to them. That part matters,” Le Batard concluded.
“It’s not a special thing anymore. They don’t have to get rid of it because the guys don’t care. They shouldn’t care about it anymore. It’s an artifact from a bygone age.”
We discuss the history of All-Star games and how they stopped mattering.
📺: https://t.co/VCO8LRaWHM pic.twitter.com/SYAO3LiWDs
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) February 20, 2024
Unfortunately, no one has yet to come up with a solution to the “disgraceful farce” (according to Boston Globe reporter Bob Ryan) that the NBA All-Star Game has become. And until they do, it’s just going to be more of the same and we will just have to endure more hot takes like this…
Once again, these NBA stars are showing no respect for the game. It’s another Dunkarama and 3-point farce. Not a single hand in anyone’s face. I’ll see how TCM is doing. See you next year. What a waste of time. Adam, you must do something. It’s embarrassing for your sport.
— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) February 19, 2024
If you’re not personally offended but this disgraceful farce taking place right now in Indy, you don’t love or understand basketball, These “All-Stars” should be censured. And where are the coaches? Have any of them have any pride? They’re all acting like athletic court jesters.
— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) February 19, 2024