The NBA has been heavily criticized for its All-Star Games, which many have found boring, with players not being competitive enough. Kevin Durant, playing in his 16th ASG, refuses to be the only one getting blamed.
The Houston Rockets star was asked by reporter Michael Shapiro about the ASG happening in Los Angeles and how hard the “old heads” would play. KD understood what the question was trying to insinuate and shifted the focus to two European superstars.
“You should ask the Europeans and the World Team if they want to compete. Look at Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić — let’s go back and look at what they do at the All-Star Game. Is that competition?” he said.
He added that those players should be asked the question as well, based on their performances in past editions.
“So we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing, but we question the old heads, the Americans. But those two dudes out there, Luka and Jokic, they don’t care about the game at all,” KD continued.
“They be laying on the floor, shooting from half-court, but you gotta worry about the old heads playing hard.”
Durant previously pointed to players shooting threes from the halfcourt as the reason why the games were not as exciting anymore.
What was Kevin Durant talking about?
KD might be onto something. Dončić and Jokić are actually good friends who get to joke with each other before and during the All-Star Game.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard has been to five ASGs, but he hasn’t scored more than eight points in any of them.
The case is almost the same for Jokić. In his nine All-Star Game appearances, he has scored in double digits only twice. There were two games in which he scored only two points.
Such a stat is unusual for two players who make triple double easy. A fan even compiled their listless performances.
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