The desired celebration will look different because of the NBA’s new format for the All-Star Game, which now features four teams. Stars like Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James, however, have voiced their distaste for the new structure.
Fans are constantly wondering what happened to the state of competition during the game. On Thursday, former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce urged James and the other stars to try and take the All-Star Game seriously.
“When I played, we was forced to play ’cause Kob, Kob was gon’ force you to play,” Pierce said around the 13:00 mark. “Don’t come out here lollygaggin’ ’cause he comin’ hard. It gotta come from the top. It gotta come from LeBron sayin’, ‘Hey, we gon’ take this serious,’ from K.D. sayin’, ‘Hey,’ from Steph sayin’, ‘Hey.’ That’s where it’s gotta come from.”
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson agrees with what Pierce said and even shared how he’d lock in whenever he played against Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird.
“I knew Larry Bird was coming for me,” Magic said. “If we lining up no, you put on that green, I put on that purple. It’s gotta get back to that. There’s a reason why the number of viewerships are going down and these guys better wake up and say, ‘Hey man, we gotta change this’.”
Additionally, Pierce and Johnson stressed the need for players to play games, which has caused a decrease in viewership. They referred to load management as one significant source of the league’s lack of competitiveness.
LeBron James said there’s a lot that needs to change in the league
LeBron James’ reaction to the new structure of the All-Star Game was ambivalent, in contrast to that of players like Durant and Booker. James discussed his opinions of the new format prior to the Lakers’ Thursday game against the Sacramento Kings.
According to him, changes were needed to fix the lack of competitive nature of the All-Star game. But he’s unsure if the latest change will fix the issues.
“I mean, it’s different in a sense,” James told reporters. “But, I don’t know, I don’t really have a … We’ll see, we’ll see when we get there. It’s different. Obviously, anytime you make some type of change it’s gonna be some buck back. I don’t know. I mean, I have my ideas of what could possibly work.”
“It’s not just the All-Star Game. It’s our game in general,” James said. “… There’s a lot of f–king 3s being shot. So it’s a bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game.”
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
