Editor’s note: This article expresses the opinion of Justin Kontul, not the Old Gold & Black.
Last weekend, sports fans turned their attention from the NFL to the NBA. After the Super Bowl ended, the NBA looked to capitalize on the open market with their 2025 All-Star game.
This year, a new format was introduced to bring more life and excitement to the game: the hosts of the TNT show, “Inside the NBA” (Charles “Chuck” Barkley, Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith) each drafted one of three all-star teams. Then, the winner of the NBA Rising Stars game joined the other three teams, and the four teams played in a tournament-style event to win the all-star game. In each game, the winner was determined by which team hit forty points first.
In the first game, Team Chuck beat Team Kenny 41-32. Barkley’s team had many of the international stars in the game today, including Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Shai-Gilgious Alexander (Canada). Smith’s team consisted of younger all-stars, including 23-year-olds Cade Cunningham, Jalen Williams and Evan Mobley.
Afterward, Team Shaq beat the Rising Stars team — named “Team Candace” for WNBA legend Candace Parker — 42-35. Shaq’s team had NBA veterans like Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. O’Neal drafted 21-time All-Star LeBron James, but the Los Angeles Lakers star missed the event due to injury.
In the championship game, Team Shaq dismantled Team Chuck 41-25 behind a scorching-hot Curry, whose 12 points and four 3-pointers won All-Star Game MVP. Additionally, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum added 15 points for Team Shaq.
Overall, the game and event as a whole had mixed reviews from fans. Some say that the new format breathed life into an event that has been a disappointment to NBA fans for the past few years. The players gave better effort than we have seen in the last few games. Some individuals, such as Victor Wembanyama and Jaren Jackson Jr, stood out for their exceptional effort.
Hopefully, these young guys will continue to play with effort in the event, which will encourage the new wave of all stars to take the game more seriously. There was of course excellent shot-making from guys like Steph Curry and Damian Lillard, which kept fans interested, and the players seemed to have some good things to say about the new format. After the game, Shai-Gilgious Alexander said, “I would rather play without breaks, but I had fun nonetheless. I feel like it was a little bit more towards the competitive side tonight, which is a good feeling, a step in the right direction.”
One of the largest problems with this year’s iteration of the NBA All-Star Game was the lack of actual play time. The event lasted around three hours, of which there was only around 45 minutes of basketball played. The rest of the event featured musical performances and commentary by comedian Kevin Hart.
While 40 points may seem like a lot, the all-stars can hit that point quickly. Although the effort level was better than what we’ve seen in recent years, the game still seemed stale and unmeaningful at times. Viewership also struggled, as it was down 13% from 2024.
Where does the NBA go from here? Well, you don’t have to look far to find successful turnarounds. This year, the NHL pivoted from a traditional All-Star Game to the “Four Nations Face-Off” event, which consisted of players from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. This event drew huge audiences from all over the world, with the final game setting an ESPN viewership record for the sport of hockey. As a staggering success story, something similar could be what the NBA will emulate in the future.
