… is treated by players as the annual staff meeting that they are forced to attend, and it shows.
The NBA All-Star weekend is all but alive and well. It is the league’s time showcase its product and promote their game of basketball to the world.
However, the players that are invited treat it like the once a year staff meeting that they are forced to attend, and it shows. Being named an All-Star is a privilege and testament to a players ability that follows them through their entire career. It also comes with a cash bonuses:
- $100k/Player to the winning team
- $25k/Player to the losing team
- $100k to Slam Dunk Contest winner – $50k to the runner up – $20k to the bottom two contestants
- $50K to the 3PT Contest winner – $35k to the runner up – $25K to third place – $10k to fourth, firth, and sixth place – $0 to everyone else.
Even with the prize money in place, the undeniable absence of effort on both ends of the floor from the association’s most talented (also read “highest paid”) players is the only thing on display, and its not good for the game. While there are many reasons that one could point to for why players don’t want to compete in the All-Star game (or its accompanied events). One thing is for certain though, the weekend itself is in serious trouble.
… and I’m actually okay with that. It has become more a Hallmark holiday to the league and its sponsors. The fans at the arena are mostly influences, celebrities, and other players/family. The Slam Dunks contest has been won by a non-NBA player 2 years running now, and the skills competition isn’t getting better. The All-Star game itself is so far removed from the ultimate pickup game that fans desperately want that it’s hardly worth watching anymore. The only saving grace to the weekend this year was the 3PT shoutout between Sabrina Ionescu and Stephen Curry which was fun, inclusive, and showcased that basketball is a universal sport for everyone.
Maybe the league needs to lean into the sport and its culture more. An offseason Basketball Expo put on by the NBA with concerts, 3v3 tournament open to the public, slam dunk competition with professional dunkers, skill competitions and camps for kids, and appearances by NBA players, sneaker convention, auctions for charity, and state of the union addresses by leadership. Possibilities are endless, just like the excuses for players not wanting to compete in the sport they love for the fans that make them wealthy.