NBA Celebrity All-Star Game needs fewer athletes and more stars

NFL players dominated Friday’s celebrity exhibition in Indianapolis. Rams receiver Puka Nacua threw down dunks , Texans QB C.J. Stroud scored 30 points and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys won MVP after dropping 37 and grabbing seven steals.

They weren’t the only athletes dominating. Gianmarco Tamberi, the reigning Olympic high jump champion, threw down a few dunks of his own.

Couple that with the presence of YouTube hoopers like Jack Ryan and Tristan Jass and WNBA players Jewell Loyd and Natasha Cloud and the level of basketball professionalism is off the charts. But is that really the spirit of the celebrity game?

It used to be that someone like musician Brian McKnight or former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan could win MVP. It was fun to discover that actor Tom Cavanagh (the titular Ed from “Ed”) had hoop skills or that Quavo from Migos was a baller.

The game now seems designed to show that active professional athletes can destroy normal celebrities on the court. DK Metcalf won the MVP Award and lit it up last season, but because he was a 25-year-old professional football player facing off against musical artist Janelle Monae.

Perhaps the NBA could attract more celebrities if participants weren’t faced with getting run over by NFL defensive ends during the game. Congratulations to Parsons, but this exhibition needs more celebrities and less game.