Longtime NBA observers rip uncompetitive, 397-point All-Star Game: ‘What a waste of time’

NBA commissioner Adam Silver spent weeks urging players for a competitive NBA All-Star Game.

They didn’t listen.

The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night in the highest-scoring All-Star game in history. In addition, the East made 42 3-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019, and attempted 97 of them.

And the sides combined for 193 points in the first half to break the any-half record of 191 set last year, and the East tied an any-half record by scoring 104 by intermission.

And that’s all well and good, but not everyone was happy with another game featuring little to no defense, half court shots and constant dunks.

“It’s really simple: if you don’t care, neither do we,” Sportscenter anchor Scott Van Pelt wrote on X,

“That was dreadful. Again. I am beginning to think this game is irredeemable,” wrote longtime NBA journalist David Aldridge. “I am not sure why even minimal defense effort is beyond this generation of All-Stars. But it may be time to end this game if they can’t give more of a damn than that.”

Fellow longtime NBA observer Bob Ryan, who began covering the Celtics in the late-1960s, also wasn’t shy to share his disgust for the state of the game.

“Once again, these NBA stars are showing no respect for the game,” Ryan wrote on X. “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.”

Some accounts disagreed, calling Ryan and Aldridge “out of touch,” but many accounts on social media agreed, with some calling the game “embarrassing” and others deeming it “unwatchable.”

Ryan didn’t leave it at just one post, either.

“If you’re not personally offended but this disgraceful farce taking place right now in Indy, you don’t love or understand basketball,” he tweeted. “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.”

Even Silver, who had promised fans a better game after a similar spectacle in Salt Lake City in 2023, seemed annoyed.

“And to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points,” Silver said flatly. “Well ... congratulations.”

The NBA All-Star Game has never been a lockdown, drag out slugfest, but players at least used to fake it. The effort on the court now is non-existent.

And like showcases in other leagues like the NHL and NFL, the game has undergone significant change in recent years as organizers try to add juice, excitement, and competition to the games. The NHL now has a 4-team tournament and the NFL has ditched a traditional game for a skills challenge and flag football game.

But ultimately it falls on the players, and some of the game’s biggest stars said after the game that there’s more to it than simply playing harder.

“Obviously the fans and the league and everybody wants to be competitive, but then you also as players think about trying not to get hurt,” Laker star Anthony Davis told ESPN. “Obviously injuries are a part of the game, and no one wants to get hurt in the All-Star Game. ... All these guys here are very valuable to their teams.”

“So it’s some mixed emotions about it. You try to go out there and compete a little bit and not just be a highlight show. But at the same time, do you guys really want to see somebody going down for a dunk and somebody going to contest it and, God forbid, something happens in the All-Star Game when it could have been avoided?”

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was less diplomatic, perhaps shining a light on how the younger generation of stars view the game.

“For me, it’s an All-Star Game, so I will never look at it as being super competitive,” he told ESPN. “It’s always fun. I don’t know what they can do to make it more competitive. I don’t know. I think everyone looks at it ... it’s a break, so I don’t think everyone wants to come here and compete.”

Either way, it’s pretty clear that Sunday’s display in Indianapolis isn’t what the league is looking for from what used to be a major event on its calendar.

“I guess more solutions need to be had to figure that out,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said.

The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. The safe money may be on both teams breaking 200 points.