Tag: NBA All-Star Game

The NBA’s superstars have officially cooked the All-Star game

The All-Star game is ruined, folks.

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes

Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had an excellent week and have a great weekend ahead of you.

Well, folks. We’ve done it. Or, actually, excuse me — they’ve done it.

The NBA All-Star game has officially jumped the shark. It’s not even the All-Star game anymore. It’ll actually be the All-Star games.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the NBA has decided to turn the game into a quick flash pickup game format. There will be a four-team tournament between the All-Stars with two semifinal games between teams and then a final game to win the All-Star “tournament,” which seems to be what they’re calling it.

There are more details about the format, but if I’m being honest, I don’t care. I don’t like this. Everything about it feels forced. This doesn’t feel right, you know? This isn’t how the All-Star game is supposed to go. It’s not what it’s supposed to look like.

The NBA All-Star game means something. Or, at least, it was supposed to. It’s supposed to be a celebration of the game and its top talents. However, with the players barely trying, the game has become a shell of itself in recent years.

We’ve had moments of greatness. But, more often than not, we’re getting record-breaking scoring performances, half-hearted shot contests and half-court 3-point bombs. It’s not fun anymore. It doesn’t feel special. No matter how many solutions we all devise plans to try and fix it, it doesn’t mean anything if the players aren’t trying.

That’s how we ended up here. That’s why the NBA has turned the league’s biggest stage into a glorified pickup game.

As much as I hate it, I can’t blame the league for it. The players have pushed things this far. They know it’s bad. The league’s stars have acknowledged it. There’s no real workaround — the players just have to play harder. But they won’t. It’s just not going to happen. There’s too much money involved to risk injury and we’ve collectively devalued the regular season so much that it simply doesn’t mean what it used to mean. It’s a relic. A trophy. An accolade to simply throw on a resume.

Here’s my suggestion: Let’s just treat it like that. The All-Stars selected should be All-Stars in name only. Stop playing the game. End the weekend. Just give the players a week off and see how that goes.

The All-Star game is important. But if players can’t be interested enough in the game to celebrate and compete, so be it. Let’s not make them.

Is that a boring solution? Extremely. But it’s also far less embarrassing than trying to tweak a game repeatedly to continue getting the same result.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe once the game is gone for a few years, it’ll come back and a new generation of talent will be ready to make it mean something again.

Until then, can we please stop messing around?

Franz Wagner is the real deal

Bryan Kalbrosky hit me up earlier this week to ask if I thought Franz Wagner was an All-NBA player so far this season. I kind of scoffed at the idea.

Obviously, Franz is in incredible player. But is he one of the best 15 players in the league today? I found that kind of hard to believe.

Then, he did this.

Going toe-to-toe with LeBron James to put up a 37-point, 11-assist double-double and hitting a game-winner on the road against the Lakers? Yeah, man. I don’t know if he’s a top 15 guy. But I’d be silly to say he’s not at least in the conversation at this point.

He’s averaged 25.4 points per game since Paolo Banchero went down on Halloween.

According to HoopsHype’s global rating rankings, Wagner is the 10th best player in the world early on this season and the best under 26 years old.

Simply put, he’s got the juice. So, yeah, Bryan. I think you’re onto something here.

Shootaround

— Guys, Kendrick Lamar dropped an album! Bryan tracked the sports references included in it. There are lots of NBA joints in here.

— It’s hilarious how you still can’t read Russell Westbrook’s 200 triple-double sign. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— If you missed Prince Grimes’ last Layup Lines column, he made a great case for Dalton Knecht as rookie of the year.

— It’s insane how good Egor Demin has been early on in this NCAA season.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a fantastic weekend. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Adam Silver may have just told us that it’s over for the NBA All-Star game

Well, the game was fun while it lasted.

Folks, I know we’re in the middle of the NBA Finals. But we might have just hit a code-red situation.

It sounds like the NBA All-Star game might actually be done for.

People have been complaining about the lack of defense in the NBA All-Star game for years, but the effort was spectacularly bad this year. The score actually broke 200 points for the first time in league history. Even Adam Silver complained about it.

RELATED: The highest-scoring NBA All-Star games ever, ranked

Now, it sounds like he’s ready to do something about it. And that something sounds like it could be… canceling the game altogether? Yikes.

He was asked about it on ESPN’s NBA Finals Pregame show. Here’s what he had to say.

“We may be just past a point where guys and teams are incentivized to play a competitive All-Star game in the middle of the season,” Silver said. “And I don’t think any of them set out thinking we’re just not going to play hard. It’s just this, sort of, group dynamic that takes over.”

Translation: The players just aren’t going to play hard. It is what it is.

We could see the NBA going the NFL Pro Bowl route and just turning the event into a bunch of mini-games. He mentioned that the Steph Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu shootout was the “highlight” of the weekend, and he’s right! It was.

This sounds like a man who has just run out of ideas and is ready to throw his hands up on the whole thing. Honestly, if he is, I can’t blame him.

Silver has tried a bunch of stuff already. The All-Star game draft, the Elam ending, going back to East to West. At a certain point, you just run out of ideas. It seems like we just might be at this point.

It’s sad, but that’s our reality, I guess. Here’s to more three-point shootouts in our future. Woohoo.

Q&A: Tyrese Maxey on his first All-Star Weekend, Kevin Durant’s praise and more

“I’m able to channel it because it’s real joy,” Tyrese Maxey told For The Win.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is enjoying his best professional season yet and just made his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game.

The 23-year-old former Kentucky standout is having a breakout season and has emerged as a second star alongside Joel Embiid for Philadelphia. He was chosen to represent the Eastern Conference after averaging a career-high 25.7 points and 6.4 assists per game.

While he was in Indiana for the festivities, Maxey received deserved praise from many around the league, including Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, who said the guard could eventually become one of the faces of the NBA.

For The Win chatted with Maxey on Saturday to discuss his time at All-Star Weekend, his goals for the remainder of the season and more.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

A genius solution to fix the NBA All-Star Game after the awful 2024 edition

Here’s how the NBA can increase competitiveness and reduce injury risk all at once.

The NBA All-Star Game hit a low point this year, which is saying a lot because it’s been bad for awhile. But this might’ve been rock bottom.

There was no defense, players acted too cool to care and the final score was 211-186. 211!

Adam Silver has to do something to save the league’s showcase event, and I have a suggestion. If players are too cool to go hard in a team game, the NBA should make it less of a team game. Force players to put a little more pride on the line by going to a 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 tournament. Let me explain how it would work:

There are 12 players on each team, so the first round would be six 1-on-1 games in each conference for a total of 12 games. And you set a low number to win like seven, so the games don’t drag on for too long. Once that round is over, it’s halftime.

Then, for the second half, with it down to six players in each conference, you go to a 3-on-3 semifinals. The 3-on-3 team to advance from each conference advances to the championship round, and you name an MVP from the winner of that game.

And that’s it. I guarantee players go harder for that, because there’s nowhere to hide. It’s also not a full-court game, so there’s less risk for injury. Make it happen NBA.

@forthewintok

The NBA All-Star Game hit a new low in 2024, but @pgprincej has a suggestion to fix it #nba #nbaallstar

♬ OK – Flight School & Zai1k

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Warriors’ Steph Curry scores 16 points off bench in NBA All-Star Game

The Golden State Warriors point guard dropped 16 points in his 10th appearance in the NBA All-Star Game.

After knocking off Sabrina Ionescu in the first NBA vs. WNBA 3-point competition on Saturday night in Indiana, Steph Curry suited up for his 10th appearance in the NBA All-Star game.

Curry came off the bench for the first time in the All-Star game, scoring 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field with eight assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes.

The Warriors’ veteran point guard showed a wide variety of skills on Sunday night, including multiple triples and smooth handling. Curry drilled four 3-pointers. Curry also nearly put away a lob from Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns.

Via @warriors on X:

Despite Curry’s 16 points off the bench, the Western Conference All-Star got blown out by the Eastern Conference 211-186. Damian Lillard was named All-Star game MVP for the second consecutive season, scoring 39 points with 11 made 3-pointers. Towns led all scorers with 50 points on 23-of-35 shooting from the field.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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What are the highest scoring NBA All-Star games in league history?

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game set the record for the highest combined scoring total at halftime in All-Star Game history. 

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game set the record for the highest combined scoring total at halftime in All-Star Game history.

During the first half, the Eastern Conference scored 104 points while the West scored 89. For comparison, that means the East scored more points in one half than they did in the entire game in four consecutive years between 1953 and 1956.

How does this massive scoring performance between the two teams at the All-Star Game compare to other high marks in league history, though? Of course, the final score (211-186) took the pole position.

After returning to the old format of East vs. West and removing the Elam ending, all records broke. This wasn’t exactly a surprise considering even before 2024, nine of the highest-scoring NBA All-Star Games had occurred within the last 10 seasons.

Here are the updated highest-scoring totals that the NBA has ever seen in an All-Star Game:

NBA All-Star rosters: Here is the full list for the 2024 game (with injury replacements)

This is who will represent the West and the East in Indianapolis.

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game will return to the conference rivalry format and we now know which players will represent the East and West.

Although we already knew the starters after they were announced late last month, seven more players from each conference got the call that they will head to Indianapolis for the game on Feb. 18 as well.

The captains (LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo) remain the same as last year but this year, it is just an honorary distinction. They are denoted below in bold.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]

Injured places are indicated with a strikethrough for their name and injury replacements are indicated with an asterisk.

Otherwise, here’s the full list of East and West All-Stars for you to consult:

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Tyrese Haliburton’s NBA All-Star Game outfit made fans think he looked like Cookie Monster

Tyrese Haliburton genuinely looked like he stole this look from Cookie Monster.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was one of the biggest stars of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Indiana.

Haliburton, who impressed some folks with his performance in the 3-point contest and skills competition on Saturday night, has had a very memorable few days in Indianapolis.

When he arrived for the actual All-Star Game on Sunday, however, he made a bold fashion decision that caused some waves. (Note: This is not the first time that his outfits have made waves of late.)

RELATED: Tyrese Haliburton on entering All-Star Weekend in an Indy car, the 3-point contest and more

The 23-year-old shared a heartwarming moment with a fan when he arrived.

Haliburton was wearing a nice suit and tie but fans couldn’t ignore the blue fabric on his blazer and pants that resembled the “fur” associated with Cookie Monster from Sesame Street:

Mac McClung won the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest (again) and these were all the best photos

Mac McClung has officially made history, winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back seasons.

Mac McClung has officially made history, winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back seasons.

The high-flying G League guard took home the honors after an impressive performance, which included dunking over Shaquille O’Neal, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana. McClung beat out Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, Heat rookie Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Knicks forward Jacob Toppin.

Here were the best photos of the night in which McClung was once again crowned champ:

Fans criticized refs for allowing 3-point contest participants to shoot with their feet on the line

If fans are betting on who wins, these rules need to get enforced.

For the second year in a row, Damian Lillard won the NBA’s 3-point contest. But it didn’t come without its moments of controversy.

Even after the competition was over and Lillard was crowned champion, the Bucks star point guard acknowledged that the refs were not exactly showing a lot of due diligence during the competition.

He said that while he saw referees on the court, he noticed that they weren’t enforcing the rules of the contest.

While the participants may have found themselves a bit distracted by the fancy LED court at Lucas Oil Stadium, the refs had more responsibility to not count the shots that were taken while players had their feet on the line.

Especially if fans are betting on who wins this competition, long 2-pointers shouldn’t count and these rules need to be enforced.