The NBA All-Star Game’s new format has been greeted with skepticism from some of the league’s biggest stars — most notably Kevin Durant.
“I hate it; I absolutely hate it,” Durant said Tuesday, minutes after the league announced the changes to its midseason showcase.
This season’s format is a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament that will feature three teams of eight All-Stars each, with the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players. The winning team in all games will be the first to score 40 points.
The All-Star Game will take place Feb. 16 at the home of the Golden State Warriors. The Rising Stars event is there Feb. 14, headlining All-Star Friday.
“Terrible — All-Star Game format changing, all the formats — terrible in my opinion,” Durant said. “We should just go back to East-West. Just play a game.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has wanted a more competitive All-Star event for some time, and this change comes after the teams combined to score a record 397 points — 211-186 was the final — in last season’s game at Indianapolis.
The teams combined to take 289 shots in that game, 94% of those being either inside the paint or beyond the 3-point line.
“I think we’ve been trying to bring that flare back somehow with All-Star Weekend, I think we just keep the tradition,” Durant said. “We’ll see how this one works. You never know, I might be wrong, I’m just another guy with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works.”
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander offered a more optimistic take Tuesday, acknowledging the “elephant in the room” of player effort during the All-Star Game.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to whether the players want to go at it, and I would love to see that,” he said. “Love to be a part of that, for sure, and hopefully it happens.”
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, however, seemed to agree with Durant when asked Wednesday about the new format.
“Same thing KD said,” Morant said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
