While the first three teams will be made up of traditional All-Stars drafted by Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith, the fourth team will be made up of the Rising Stars Challenge winner, who will include NBA rookies, sophomores, and young G League stars.
Right before the Lakers faced the Kings in Sacramento on Thursday evening, the press asked LeBron James about the increased competition, and he revealed that “something had to change.”
We’ll see when we get there. It’s different,” stated the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. “Obviously, if you make a change, there is going to be some backlash. I do not know. I mean, I have some thoughts on what could possibly work.
When asked what those thoughts were, LeBron chose not to divulge them, at least not before Los Angeles’ showdown against Sacramento. However, he believes that the All-Star game needs to be perfected: “You have to do something.” Obviously, the last several years have not produced a terrific All-Star Game on Sunday night.”
Last year, for example, the match between East and West athletes was condemned for demonstrating a lack of competitiveness and weak defense. The competition ended with a remarkable score of 211-186, the most points ever scored in an All-Star Game.
Other NBA icons, such as Kevin Durant, would prefer that things stay the same. “I hate it,” the Phoenix forward admitted this week. “I really despise it. It is dreadful.
All-Star Game formats are changing, and all of them are bad in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West and play a game.