Recapping an... Interesting NBA All-Star Weekend | HOOPS Daily, 2/17/2025

Did this All-Star Weekend and discourse kill my basketball fandom? It tried but not quite.

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The Tip-Off: Did You Enjoy this Weekend’s Festivities?

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All-Star Weekend

Friday - Celebrity Game, Rising Stars

I think part of what makes these games work to start the weekend is that there’s a lightness to all of it. The self-seriousness that comes later in the weekend is nowhere to be found here. The Rising Stars game used the four-team tournament style format very well and it was clear everyone was motivated by the desire to win and represent the young guys on Sunday and then the Celebrity game was what it always is.

Saturday - All-Star Saturday Night (Skills Challenge/3-Point Contest/Dunk Contest)

When All-Star Saturday began with the Spurs being disqualified for trying to cheat during the Skills Challenge, I knew it was gonna be one of those nights. I don’t know why the NBA treated it like a gigantic scandal though, going so far as to bar sideline reporter Allie LaForce from interviewing Chris Paul and Wemby about what had happened.

The 3-Point Contest started with the sound of 1000 thuds as no one could get the lid off the basket until Tyler Herro stepped up to take the lead. Eventually he would win, actually scoring more in the second round than in the first. And then finally, the Dunk Contest came and with it, Mac McClung emerged like Captain America from the ice to save the league for a third straight year. His first dunk was an impressive take on Blake Griffin’s infamous Kia dunk. When that’s the first thing you do, you know he’s got confidence. He eventually claimed his third-straight dunk title, edging out the Spurs’ Stephon Castle who’s nuanced dunks required more replay viewings and weren’t as easily accessible with the live crowd in the moment.¹

Mac McClung’s performance was so good, it got stars like Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo tweeting about potentially competing next season. At this point, I’ll believe it when I see it. Stars have been lying about the dunk contest for years so I’m going to hold off on the excitement until it’s February 2026 and they’re on the posters.

Sunday - All Star Game

Oof. That’s about all I can say about this year’s revamped All-Star Game, which attempted to tinker with the formula to engage players more and create a more serious, exciting game. At least I think that was the plan cause literally everything they did felt like the opposite of getting the players to try harder and making the game more serious.

Splitting the game into 4 teams of 4 is an interesting idea, I think there’s something there but the execution left a ton to be desired because this is how the timeline shook out for viewers:

Three things:

1. That Mr. Beast segment only being 5 minutes is unreal. It felt like at least 10-15 of the longest minutes of my life.

2. The Inside the NBA tribute happening IN THE MIDDLE of the last game is a decision that will baffle me for the rest of my life. They’re leaving Turner yes, but we already know they’ll be making BANK to continue the show anyways. Plus, doing all of this in the middle of what’s supposed to be the big finale killed any momentum it was gaining and seemed to also be a signal that the players could stop caring too.

3. If you add it up, there was about 33 minutes of basketball action during a 3+ hour broadcast designed to highlight and celebrate… the game of basketball. It feels like the NBA thought that catering to casual fans was the move but they missed the mark with casuals and alienated the die-hards in the process.

What a colossal miss.

Last thing before I move on… that Kevin Hart stuff should’ve been capped at some point because even the players were getting tired of it. I don’t know who convinced who that him with a live mic acting like a less funny version of a Rucker Park MC screaming the same things over and over like a 2K game announcer would need anything more than 5-10 minutes.

Ok one more thing: were Brian Anderson and Reggie Miller really the best available announcers for this?! When I saw that was the duo for the night my heart sank. No Ian Eagle? No Kevin Harlan?!

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Moments From the Weekend

It wasn’t all misses though, here are a few of my favorite moments I caught throughout the weekend:

Nikola Jokic reacting to Wemby having a book with him in the locker room:

Giannis asking for some of SGA’s aura:

Jokic² teaching KAT how he does his over the head shot:

Donovan Mitchell guarding Victor Wembanyama while wearing a chest camera:

The mic’d up footage released after the game:

Wemby after the game talking about giving 100% and wanting to take the game seriously:

Oscar Robertson’s response when asked about Draymond Green’s All-Star comments:

TNT releases special tribute to Inside the NBA

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A Rant About All-Star Weekend

I wanted to keep a dedicated space for this so that the things that bothered me didn’t seep into the entire newsletter and make it an overall bummer or anything. I just don’t understand the point of the All-Star Game anymore. I try to view the weekend as being for kids, a chance for younger fans to see all the best players come together with all the pageantry and fanfare you could ask for. I think having that mindset has helped for the most part even last year when everyone just stood around not playing defense, the winning team topped 200 points, and Adam Silver looked pissed handing out the trophy.

It’s clear the players just didn’t care so by extension, I didn’t let it bother me and just watched it as a fan of basketball. This year though, there’s been this insane discourse around “the sanctity of the All-Star Game” as the league tries this new 4-team tournament idea that players have commented negatively on:

"To be honest, I didn't like it at all, I didn't like the breaks. The games were so short. Obviously, we can score. So, they're trying to, I feel like, trying to extend the game, extend the TV time with the breaks and things like that." - Trae Young

"I would say it's not ideal to stop like that if you want guys to be physical. I think guys were still out there having fun. All the OGs, team old knees and old backs, we came out on top, so I don't think anyone else should have had any excuses. It's definitely not ideal."
- Jaylen Brown

Part of this weekend’s new format was adding in a Rising Stars team to the proceedings, with the winning team from Friday becoming the fourth team in the Sunday field. I think it’s an interesting idea in the sense that, you almost shame the All-Stars into trying because who wants to lose to the young guys? But apparently, Draymond Green is the end all be all ambassador of the All-Star Game and he had this to say:

Is this year’s All-Star court made out of diamonds or something? Did I miss the memo that the All-Star court is the most sacred thing in NBA history? To act like Rising Stars taking the court is sacrilege is insane when anyone with a cell phone or computer can instantly look up highlights from the last few games and see how sacred everyone treated the proceedings. As almost the perfect bookend to Draymond’s comments and a nice example of how important the game is, LeBron James announced an hour before the game that he wasn’t actually going to play due to “foot and ankle discomfort.” This ends an incredible streak of 20-straight All-Star Game appearances and if he doesn’t feel up to playing, that’s totally his choice and honestly for me as a Lakers fan, even better to play it safe. But to wait til an hour before the game, during his own media availability as he didn’t participate in Saturday’s sessions, feels extremely lame. Why wait til an hour before instead of allowing the league to pick a replacement? Someone like Domantas Sabonis, Jalen Green, or Devin Booker would’ve been deserving of an All-Star spot but instead, we get these team photos with everyone in uniform and LeBron:

And honestly, I don’t think I’d care this much if it wasn’t for the NHL’s 4 Nations tournament. Instead of their typical All-Star stuff, the NHL decided to hold a four-way tournament between the US, Canada, Sweden, and Finland and the results have been nothing short of spectacular. The US vs Canada dominated the night on Saturday, overshadowing the NBA in just about every way, especially when it came to effort.

At this point I’m just rambling here so I’ll stop but I can’t get over the cyclical part of the problem here. Players don’t try, league tries something new, players complain, players don’t try, league tries somet… and over and over.

One last thing: the NBA really sat down and said “hmm, ratings are down, fans want more basketball, how about for the All-Star Game we let Kevin Hart talk through the whole thing, take commercials every 10 points, and spend 10 minutes in between games doing a weirdly dystopian Mr. Beast challenge. Perfect.”

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At the Buzzer

- Mac McClung donating Kia from Dunk Contest to foundation in his hometown of Gate City, Virginia

- Steph Curry-produced animated movie “Goat” announced for Feb. 2026 release

- Joe Mazzulla wants NBA to ban halftimes
- “I just don’t understand it… I hate it. It’s useless.”³

- Draymond Green says Warriors “will win” NBA title
- Steph’s response

- Draymond also says the Warriors have offered him the head coaching job after he retires⁴

- Napheesa Collier wins Unrivaled’s $200,000 1-on-1 Tournament
- “My entire WNBA salary ($214,000) is what I just got playing 30 minutes of 1-on-1.”

- Carmelo Anthony, Maya Moore highlight finalists for 2025 Hall of Fame Class

- Drew Hanlen is mad Jayson Tatum didn’t win All-Star Game MVP

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Watching Tonight

The NBA is still on break until Wednesday so tonight, just watch the 4 Nations Face-Off or Monday Night Raw or something in the meantime.

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Thank you guys for bearing with me, that was a lot more All-Star ranting than I planned on so I appreciate you taking the time to read all that. Or if you just scrolled to the bottom… I understand that too and still appreciate the time. I hope everyone had a good weekend. Since there’s no games until one on Wednesday, I’ll be back Thursday so enjoy the first few days of the week and take care.

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1. Which isn’t to say that his weren’t good. I honestly thought he had a really good chance of winning if he hadn’t been cursed with having to make multiple attempts during his turns.

2. Jokic may be the most fun player in this setting. He seems miserable all season and then he gets to All-Star Weekend and turns into the dude at the company retreat that lets loose. It felt sad not seeing him have Luka Doncic there to match his energy and it’s clear he was looking all weekend for someone to pick up the slack.

3. Cut to Thibs nodding vigorously in agreement

4. Would LOVE to hear Steve Kerr’s thoughts on this one Thursday when the season resumes