Sunday marked the passage of another NBA All-Star Game, and for most fans, it was another disappointment. There was little defense played, and it was merely a casual exhibition that lacked any real competitive vibe.
There was a time, many years ago, when players who were lucky and good enough to get picked for the midseason classic actually competed at least somewhat hard in it. Pride and egos were on the line to a certain extent, and the play of the men participating reflected that reality.
Former NBA player and current ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins not only called the game an “embarrassment,” but he even said it was “disrespectful to the game of basketball.”
The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference in Sunday’s All-Star Game, and it did so by scoring a record 211 points. Right after the conclusion of the contest, commissioner Adam Silver gave the East a half-hearted congratulations for scoring so many points, and it was evident to many that he was disappointed about the lack of effort and competitiveness.
Clearly, something needs to change to drum up interest and excitement for what has traditionally been one of the biggest highlights on the NBA schedule each season.
Perkins said perhaps the league should award a big cash payout to each player on the winning team. Perkins noted the success of the inaugural in-season tournament, where everyone on the winning team received six figures, and how the intensity in each game approached that of a playoff game.
But in the end, the real change has to come from the players themselves, who have to decide to be a little more attentive to the fans who ultimately pay their gigantic salaries and take All-Star weekend more seriously. In fact, the Slam Dunk Contest, which used to get fans hyped a generation ago, has also gone flat, and some feel it’s because big-name stars simply don’t want to take part in it.
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