Kevin Durant was spot-on in assessment of new All-Star format

This year's NBA All-Star Game will look a lot different than year's past, as the National Basketball Players Association announced a new format for the annual event on Tuesday.

For the first time, the NBA All-Star Game will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games. Two teams will meet in one semifinal (Game 1), and two teams will meet in the other semifinal (Game 2). The winning teams from Game 1 and Game 2 will advance to face each other in the championship (Game 3). For each game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points.

Each team will have eight players and be named for a TNT NBA analyst. The 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three teams, with the rosters drafted by TNT’s Inside the NBA commentators and honorary team general managers Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The fourth team will be comprised of the winning team from the championship game of the Castrol Rising Stars, the annual showcase of top first- and second-year NBA players and NBA G League standouts. 

Although the concept is a unique twist on the NBA All-Star game format, it has been met with more confusion than excitement. Suns star Kevin Durant slammed the format for the 2025 All-Star game minutes after it was announced.

"I hate it, I absolutely hate it," Durant said, via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. "Terrible. All-Star Game format changing, all the formats -- terrible in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West. Just play a game. I think we've been trying to bring that flare back somehow with All-Star Weekend, I think we just keep the tradition. We'll see how this one works. You never know, I might be wrong, I'm just another guy with an opinion, but we'll see how it works."

The NBA's continued efforts to boost interest in its All-Star Weekend are understandable, but the latest changes feel forced. Still, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is hopeful that the format change produces a more competitive game.

“We’re looking at other formats,” Silver said in November. “I think there’s no doubt that the players were disappointed as well in last year’s All-Star Game. We all want to do a better job providing competition and entertainment for our fans.”

After the first 66 All-Star Games, which were played in the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format with four quarters of 12 minutes each, the league switched to a new format in which the leading vote-getters from each conference served as captains and drafted their teams.

LeBron James served as one of the captains all six times, with Giannis Antetokounmpo serving as captain three times, Durant twice and Steph Curry once. 

Frankly, the league should consider a move back to the traditional East vs. West format, as some of the most famous All-Star game memories stem from that setup. 

While Durant and other All-Stars may not be jazzed about the new format, one change that should enthuse them is this year's cash prizes. 

There is a prize pool of $1.8 million with each player on the championship-winning team getting $125,000. Additionally, players on the second-place team get $50,000 and players on the teams that lose in the semifinals get $25,000.