Kevin Durant: “I’ve been watching all star games and the intensity the older generation been talking about….I don’t know if I’ve seen it”
He’s not wrong. The All-Star has been flashy plays and no defense for a long time now.
all I ask for is a decent 4th quarter lol
The Kobe game was good a few years back
I am biased, but Kyle Lowry taking charges really made that game. Everyone upped their game and actually started competing when they saw one of the oldest and smallest guys taking contact for the team.
During the deadball era they were regularly putting up like 30-40 points over the league average and putting up more shots. It’s just instead of dumb threes it was mostly dunks. Also you didn’t really have moments like Curry laying on the court and things like that. Guys like Duncan used to bullshit in the all star games because they didn’t have the skillset to make the game flashy.
So it looked a little better, but really it’s always been a joke you watch the highlights of later. All star game was for SportsCenter to show some cool lobs on the highlight reel the next day.
Yea it’s the all star game. But it was clear that the teams didn’t want to lose. Nowadays it just feels like nobody even wants to be there to begin with
I mean when teams value resting players to the point they will sit them in actual games that count, I cant really be surprised that players would rather just rest over caring about a game that doesnt count.
I’m sure teams are telling some of these guys too “oh you’re banged up, dont try at all” or something to that extent.
My point is that it feels like they don’t see it as an honor and couldn’t care less about the fan experience
Yeah they don’t that’s the issue the nba has in general
Some of my favorite players are injury prone, for example Luka Doncic, and the last thing I want to see is my favorite players getting injured, especially not in something as stupid and pointless as an all-star game
Its really the constant deep 3s that has made the game unwatchable.
There as always been no defense played but when the players just chuck up half court shots it makes it look so much worse
The wide layups ain’t good
There as always been no defense played
This isn’t really the case. Just watch few minutes of this, 1993 all star game:
https://youtu.be/VAEuIJIv6v4?si=BCZlCDIzcEpVz2Ps
You’ll probably see more defense here in 1⁄2 a quarter than you see in the entire game today
I remember one in the 2000s where the game went to 2 ovetimes and that was a good game for sure
There was a game when Kobe was going at LeBron. He was guarding him 30 feet from the basket and Lebron refused to take a game winning shot. It was before LeBron started winning titles in Miami.
Even in Last Dance MJ was saying Kobe was trying to cook these dudes.
Some guys gave a shit. They did that ELO scoring a few years ago in the fourth and the game got really competitive. It’s not impossible to play the fucking game the right way.
The older generation benefits from most ppl not having experienced full games live. A lot of fans would enjoy ASGs through highlights.
How? When I was younger, if you didn’t watch the all star weekend live, you just missed it. I had friends poorly reenact the famous dunk contest with VC for those of us that missed it. There was no YouTube or Reddit to easily find highlights. You also didn’t have access to games across the league, so as a kid in Orlando, the all star game was one of the few times I’d see guys like KG play.
Highlights weren’t invented with the internet. We had sports channels showing highlights every day
Sportscenter used to be huge because of it. Then houseofhighlights took over ig.
Yeah man growing up in Canada in early 2000s you might catch a game a week or something, everything else was highlights. Not very often you saw AI, Shaq, Kobe, Bron play together.
And if it was a star on an obscure team like Tmac, you might see him once a month
It’s just another child who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
How old are you geinune question? All we talked about in school the next Monday was the all star weekend especially dunk contest. Had to watch that shit live or you were missing out on everything. Even my sister and female cousins would be there watching. Sport center just showed some highlights and you needed NBA tv.
I’m old as fuck. The All Star game in the 80s and into the 90s was high-scoring without a ton of defense, but it was FAR more competitive than it is now. Guys actually cared (somewhat) about winning. It is 100% a joke now. No point in watching at all. Back then it was actually a fun watch, even if the final score was 155-151.
Yes like the last 20 25 years it’s been a s*** show but in the ‘80s and ‘90s it was certainly more competitive.
How do you even quantify that? As a rough guide I would suggest looking at the winning All Star game score (when it was in its normal game format) vs the average team score of that season, then looking at how much higher (or lower) the winning score is against that in terms of percentage. So, for example the last full game format was in 2024 when a ridiculous 211 points were scored by the winning team. The average team score that season was 114.2 so the ASG winning score was 85% higher. If we do that for every single season, we see the top ten (from 73 seasons) being:
1 - 2016 196 vs 102.7 +91% 2 - 2024 211 vs 114.2 +85% 3 - 2017 192 vs 105.6 +82% 4 - 2015 163 vs 100.0 +63% 5 - 2003 155 vs 95.1 +63% 6 - 2014 163 vs 101.0 +61% 7 - 2023 184 vs 114.7 +60% 8 - 2019 178 vs 111.2 +60% 9 - 2012 152 vs 96.3 +58% 10 - 2007 153 vs 98.7 +55%
How do the 90s stack up? (1999 did not have an ASG due to a strike)
17 - 1992 153 vs 105.3 +45% 19 - 1998 135 vs 95.6 +41% 26 - 1995 139 vs 101.4 +37% 27 - 1997 132 vs 96.9 +36% 32 - 1996 129 vs 99.5 +30% 36 - 1993 135 vs 105.3 +28% 43 - 1994 127 vs 101.5 +25% 50 - 1990 130 vs 107 +21% 63 - 1991 116 vs 106.3 +9%
That’s an average of 30.4% compared to the top ten being 67.8% and dominated by recent seasons. An average All Star score in the top ten of 174.7 vs an average team score of 104.0. That’s +70.7 points. An average All Star score in the 90s of 132.9 vs and average team score of 102.1. That’s +30.8 points. The evidence is pretty damning for recent seasons…..think KD is dead wrong here.
You only need to go back to the late 90’s/early 00’s to see competitive all start games. I guess it depends on how old you are as to whether that was a long time ago.
That’s because the real issue with the all star game and viewership is a foundational issue with the concept of the event itself.
All-star games were a way to draw media and fan attention back when not everything was on live tv or immediately available at any point within 5 seconds of googling.
The dunk contest was interesting when you couldn’t just google “best dunks 2025” and have hours of footage.
All of these changes and all of the hand-wringing is a symptom of the fundamental issue, which is that the novelty of the event (which was the foundational draw) has been dead for about two decades and the viewers that stuck around out of intertia have continued to finally break away.
Great point. I can hear the executives arguing:
“It’s irrelevant.”
“People watch it, and we can sell millions of dollars worth of advertising.”
“Okay.”
I think youve identified the most important factor. A lot of entertainment has reached a saturation point. It really did feel interesting to see the leagues biggest stars all on the same court. There was intrigue about who would stand out or be the dominant talent.
Also the players back then werent all moving in the same circles as much. Yes they all knew each other, but they still lived a lot more locally, because thats just how the world was and the money was smaller too. The stars today are all very familiar with each other, often from a very early age, and theres not a lot of interest in “seeing whos better”, they arent coming into the ASB to “try” each other on an (inter)national stage.
Two more factors that I think DO matter:
the style of play IS less entertaining. People are talking about 1v1 tournament saving the ASB….well thats basically what the style of play was in the ASG during the Jordan/Kobe years. Its not really that the guys were a LOT more competitive, they were still goofing around and playing no defense, but they would basically take turns coming down the court and going one-on-one with someone. And since noone wants to get shown up 1v1 the game steadily got more competitive as the 4th quarter approached. It actually was a big deal to show out among your peers 1v1 and the hot hand usually got the ball. Today you dont see players challenging each other in the way bc the long 3-ball is the big flex…now the new ASG just gives me PTSD from the worst pickup games Ive ever played in. Guys chucking from 3 and walking back and forth. Its lazy basketball and less entertaining than the old iso 1v1 style that was popular (Im speaking about for the ASG specifically)
I actually do think NBA players have reached a level of wealth and power that its very hard to be motivated for stuff like this. In the “old days” the league power structure hadnt “flattened” so much. Even Jordan, who transcended the sport, did not approach the level of influence and power within team/league offices the way the current superstars do. The hierarchy provided the structure that the players participated in and the NBA was dominant. The evolution of the media landscape and internet and the financialization of sports has made it so modern players are more like partners than employees. There is not a lot of reverence from the players for league traditions and requests that they arent interested in. And there is not a lot of financial incentive that can be offered when guys are making $50M in base salary plus whatever they make off-the-court. In general the worlds power structures have flattened so its not just the NBA, but I believe it plays a role. The vibe at the ASG in recent years is that the players are too cool for it…that was not the vibe in “the old days”.
I just saw the 1986 all star game and they were without a doubt playing harder than now lol, it looked like regular season statement game energy
Not like this, man. It was definitely like 50% less defense but it existed.
Nah, they’ve always played some level of defense. It doesn’t have to be playoff, game 7 level of defense. Just don’t give up any open dunks and keep your hands up. Pretend you’re playing defense and put up some resistance. No one wants to watch a layup line game.
True
It’s a complete myth that older era all star games were these ultra competitive games with full effort for the entire game
Similar to saying “they actually played defense” back then when in reality it was a ton of standing around
What happens is that every so often you get an All-Star game where the score is tight going into the fourth quarter (or probably more accurately after the first several possessions in the 4th), everyone looks around and realizes “oh, I really do want to win this thing!” and things start to get a bit more tense. But it’s nowhere near a regular occurrence.
And honestly that’s is enough. That ASG where DWade broke Kobe’s nose had a relatively intense 4th where I recall the guys were trying hard on defense (not just saying that because his nose got broke).
I don’t watch a lot of all star games admittedly but the one in Cleveland had a decent 4th from what I remember
The frustrating thing is that it seemed like things changed for the 2020 ASG and then COVID happened and we’re just stuck with the worst product mathematically possible
yeah go back and watch like some random regular season game from the 80s and it’s just guys standing around 5 feet inside the line with guys driving and putting up whatever running jump hook
Watch some Magic Johnson games and see him put 0 effort on defense.
Just standing up-right, maybe a little flex at the hamstrings, hands out shoulder width apart that’s the best you gonna get lol
Thank you. If magic played today, that dude would have been hunted on defense. Guys like him were lucky they played in a league where mismatch hunting was not done for some stupid reason
I do feel like they used to at least have pick-up level intensity. Certainly not 100% effort but the teams did at least want to win to a degree.
They literally look like they dont even want to be out there now
Yeah this post is bullshit, I actually have gone back and watched late 90s all star games and it’s a night and day difference.
Does it look like game 7 of the finals? Hell no, but like you said it was about the intensity of a pickup game, and honestly that might as well be playoff ball compared to the unwatchable slop we get now.
Yes the truth is they simply didn’t jack alot of threes like they do today so the scores would usually remain close unlike the games today but they still half assed it back then to
“They actually played defense” really just means players used to be able to hand check and most of the league were bad jump shooters compared to today. You can play outstanding defense against a lot of players today and they’ll still get a shot off that they can make. The talent we have today is unreal.
That’s always been basketball better offense always beats better defense. It’s not exclusive to this era
players used to be able to hand check and most of the league were bad jump shooters compared to today
it’s hilarious you don’t comprehend the hypocrisy of that comment….hand checking makes scoring much more difficult therefore the numbers of those eras look worse than those of the modern era, who not only benefit from no hand checking but so many other changes in the game that are there purely to make scoring as easy as possible. So to just straight up compare today’s scoring and efficiency to those eras is just the height of stupidity.
Untrue. The top ten All Star game scores are dominated by recent seasons, culminating in a crazy winning score of 211 in 2024 (the last full game format we have seen). The average winning score in the 2020s has been 177 vs an average team score across that time of 112.7. So they are scoring 57% more points (+64.3). In the 90s those averages were 132.9 points in the All Star game vs 102.1 for average team score in that decade. They were scoring 30.3% more points (+30.8). That’s close to double the ratio. Also, have you actually watched an NBA game lately? It is literally 8 players just standing around while the ball handler and his defender do something, mostly just waiting for a screen/switch. Occasionally an off ball run from one side to another will happen, usually to a corner three position (easiest three in basketball). The defensive pressure on ball is also much different with current players just putting up a hand or lazily just sticking their arm out while early 00s defenders were in good defensive position, always contesting, much more physical and just generally more active. I swear the way narratives build momentum, simply by people running with those that suit their own personal narratives without even an attempt to research whether they are right or not, is just mind blowing. It’s no wonder Trump got elected twice….people are just so damn lazy and choose to believe what others shove down their throats so long as it suits their own bigotry and bias. Just DOYR, jesus….it’s not that hard.
It was definitely more defense played. I mean actually watch any moment in 2003 All Star game, and you will definitely see more defense played.
Why have people been blatantly lying about this and complaining the last like 6-7 years. I remember watching Kobe, Iverson, etc. This game was never genuinely competitive.
He’s not wrong, but that’s doesn’t negate that the entire idea of all star weekend being pointless if nobody is going to try.
The point is to watch some of the best players in the world have some fun
They all have podcasts or prank shows now. We see them on reality tv all of the time
Not really the same thing
Yeah that is just not at all interesting to me. I’d rather they get a vacation. Sorry.
You’re free to not watch then…
Yeah, but cool dunks and off the backboard oops are a lot more memorable/ highlight worthy than Dame jogging between three point lines and shooting 16 uncontested 3s
Every thing they talk about really just happens in the last 6 minutes of the 4th quarter, everyone lets everyone have have and get off cool dunks or moments , then they try to play serious or get it to be close in the last few minutes.
People watch clips and then just imagine that the all star game used to be intense
I for one don’t believe people in this sub would watch a short clip and then form their entire opinion around it
sees kobe actually playing defense for a few seconds
holy fuck the allstar game was way better back then
Yeah they just read the headline
What else are you supposed to do in Silvers highlight league?
There was definitely more defense compared to nowadays. I am not saying it was 100% efforts, but definitely more defense.
I’m guessing most people commenting in here aren’t actually old enough to know what they’re talking about.
Just look at the ‘95 ASG. Skip to any time during the game and watch for a couple of minutes. They’re running sets, jumpshots are contested, they’re doubling the post, they’re being physical / fouling to stop easy buckets, and there’s always 5-6 players in the paint competing for rebounds. It wasn’t playoff intensity, but they were actually trying to stop each other instead of saying “okay, your turn to score”.
I randomly clicked at 23:05 and the commentator says this , “ well defense is never a priority in all star but transition defense suffers the most” however even then we see a player posting up another and passing out of the post to Ewing for a mid range with a light contest from Hakeem. Everyone is playing defense but they were seen at the time as not really.
That because they were used to the Knicks trying to take Michael Jordan’s head off. It’s relative to what they were used to in their regular season.
In any case here is a 1993 game: https://youtu.be/VAEuIJIv6v4?si=BCZlCDIzcEpVz2Ps
I was just pointing out the fact but yeah relative to what they saw daily I agree. Funny you picked 93 as that’s the first allstar I watched lol.
Yeah I think they are playing at like60% effort and going through the motions. But now they dont even go through the motions. So much not getting back in transition. Literally standing around to let people do trick shots. Going through the motions at least showed the audience they cared enough to act like they were playing.
Here is the 1993 game. You can watch a few mins and easily tell it’s significantly different from today’s all star game
Yeah things don’t pick up until late in the fourth quarter if that.
Yeah, especially the one possession where two people match up 1 on 1 like Kobe guarding Lebron is so often used as look at Kobe so intense in the ASG man when it was literally 1 possession.
People complaining about players not trying in the all star game is as old as the all star game.
I genuinely don’t get why people care. There’s an 82 game schedule and playoffs if you want competitive games. To me the all star game is fun precisely because they’re fucking around.
There was literally an episode of the Fairly Oddparents in 2003 talking about how NBA basketball is only competitive in the last 2 minutes. Fans on the sidelines are constantly bitching about how little effort the athletes put in.
Give me 2 players trading deep 3s any day of the week
And people don’t appreciate that there are levels to this. Have all star games ever been played with playoff intensity? Probably not. Have they ever been played with as little intensity as they are played today? Also, probably not. You just have to look at the numbers….. Average winning ASG score in the 2020s - 177.0 Average team score in the regular season in the 2020s - 112.7 That’s a 57% difference. Average winning ASG score in the 1990s - 132.9 Average team score in the regular season in the 1990s - 102.1 That’s a 30% difference. Teams are scoring 10ppg more this decade in an average regular season game but they are then scoring 45ppg more in All Star games. That’s a huge difference.
Brother, this subreddit is really full of 12 year olds.
The best players in the world playing at a 7⁄10 level vs a 2⁄10 level is a drastic difference. No one is asking them to play at NBA Playoffs level. Just have a little bit of pride and not give up nonstop dunks/open threes while giggling.
These guys act like it’s other people didn’t watch All Star game while it is them who haven’t watched a single minute of old All Star game. The gaslighting is real strong here.
This sub just skews very young relative to, say, the college football sub and you can tell from some of the opinions. I’m not a ‘shit on the new gen’ person but to say that the modern iterations of the ASG aren’t in any way diminished from what they were even in the early 00’s is just plain wrong if you’ve been around long enough to actually watch things evolve over the years.
i was just discussing this with my brother and it really is as simple as… the “best player” lineage in the league went from Jordan to Kobe, and Jordan and Kobe played with a level of intensity that set the tone for everyone involved in these games.
once Kobe retired the intensity of these games TANKED
Yea, there are literally videos comparing old All Star games to current regular season games, but the copium, willful ignorance, and straight up gaslighting is insane.
It’s also odd like if the ASG was always bad then it would have no views by now and they would’ve cut it years ago. It clearly wasn’t always bad.
2001 all star game.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjsOaZEqdkE
2002/2003/2004 were all pretty competitive as well
That 2001 link was fun to watch
These games were also outliers. Watch any All Star game Kobe didn’t participate in and the tenor immediately changes. There’s a reason they named the trophy after him.
Watch all star games from the 80s and 90s.
Someone literally posted the 93 all star game in here and they were playing with heart. You’re loud and wrong, g.
yeah i mean as a Kobe-stan 3 of my favorite ASG moments ever were:
Wade breaking Kobe’s nose… and Kobe being like: “I love it!”
The year after the Heatles lost to Dallas in the finals and everyone was piling on LeBron for deferring to much… in the ASG that following season it was a tight game and LeBron was again deferring like crazy and Kobe was just barking at him non stop to just take some shots himself.
2003 Jordan last ASG, Jordan hit a go-ahead basket with 4.5 seconds left to go up 2. The Kobe gets fouled at the buzzer and the East Coach (Isiah Thomas) asked Kobe to shank the FTs to let MJ go out on top. And Kobe looked at him in absolute disgust before sinking 2 of 3 FTs and forcing OT where the west ultimately won.
It’s true all-star games have never been hyper-competitive for 48 minutes… but certain players clearly took them seriously enough that they set the tone for the entire games.
Those guys are absolutely just fucking around out there and Kobe is the only one serious on defense
Yup
Just pull up any moment in 2003 all star game, you will definitely see more defense played in than today’s game.
Lmao I feel like this thread is gaslighting the hell out of me. The 2001 all star game lives rent free in my head and, even if they weren’t trying to lock each other down, they had some modicum of effort being put into their performance defensively. Compare that to the All Star game several years ago when Steph curry lays on the court covering his head as Giannis (?) went for a dunk just makes it look like an absolute joke to these guys instead of a legitimate competition where the best ball players are trying to prove they’re the better talent.
I know man, I actually had to go back to rewatch previous All Star Full Game Vods, and I see defenders running through screen, hard block from centers, and actually off the ball moments from all players. They are not playing like it is a playoff game, but they are not just sitting there doing nothing like today’s All Star game.
That’s cuz KD is straight up lying
KD probably owns 15% of the accounts on this thread anyway
You’re not being gas lit at all. You remember the 2001 All Star game because it was one of the few that stood out to you, but it was a rare occurrence, not a common one. Same with the 2003 Double OT game. I can just as easily refer to the 2020 and 2022 All Star games where Lowry was taking a million charges in the former and Lebron hit the game winner in a close game in the latter.
2001,2003, and 2008. That’s three right there with more fucking effort than ASG in thea last 10 years. Fuck what you sre saying.
The allstar game after Kobe’s death had alot of effort
Why loe
I watched the NBA pretty religiously in the 2000s, and my impression is similar to KD’s. IMO it has gotten worse, but players never tried at least going back to ~2000. You have a game every 4-5 years where guys lock in for the 4th quarter and then several years of garbage.
The entire 2003 All Star Weekend in general was perfection
The amount of people in this thread confidently agreeing without actually watching the games. KD is bullshitting and so are you.
The average age on this sub is probably 14 and a half.
I just hope they enjoy the rest of 8th grade.
And what’s funny is that they’re the ones claiming that the people who complain only watch clips lmao
Props to the people posting links from older games. So much more fun than the bullshit from the last 5 games
Don’t agree. I just randomly pulled up the 98 all star game and it was tons of fun. Kobe, MJ, Shaq, KG, Grant Hill all going at each other. Like clearly they were going 80%, but it felt like the best players in the world doing really cool stuff on the court.
everyone is just running off what KD said in this thread. KD can be wrong and he’s pretty much dead wrong. The other year I actually pulled up this game because of how dead boring the actual all star game was, this is the 1993 all star game:
https://youtu.be/VAEuIJIv6v4?si=72HWxMlo-Jq5-UfM
They aren’t going at it like it’s the championship but low and behold they actually are trying to guard their man which that alone is a huge upgrade
Ofc these genz kids will never admit it.
Bro I’m watching this game and fucking Michael Jordan dunks a lob from Isaiah Thomas. Mfers didn’t even like each other and they still played with heart.
They would truly be amazing together from a basketball standpoint .
WTF is going on in this thread. People are acting it’s only possible either full intensity or no intensity with nothing in between.
Reddit things
It was never competitive until the 4th quarter if the game was close. However, it was still a lot more effort back then. Now they don’t even try. Back then the players at least pretended to play defense.
Exactly. Nobody is pretending it was 48 minutes of intensity, but the 4th was real basketball in close games, and you got to see what the hierarchy of the nba is really like among the players. Now they don’t try at all. Same thing with the dunk contest tbh. Dunk contest used to perpetually have stars, now they can’t bother. Just cancel it then if they can’t bother.
People just parroting Durant in this thread. They would at least compete in the 4th quarter and that’s all the people really want and its a world of difference. 100x the defense played compared to recent games minus the Kobe memorial game
He lying af. There was some sort of defense at least in previous ASG in 90/2000s. They gave AF instead of just letting players rim run and shoot wide open 3s.
Yeah fr. Dude literally said he watched the games, there’s no way he didn’t see a difference. And people are just eating it up because they weren’t old enough to see it either
Once again KD bullshittin
They weren’t playing ultra hard but it still looked like a basketball game you would see on tv but with all your favorite players in one building. It doesn’t have to be globetrotters basketball either though. Like I don’t expect Steph curry to stop Giannis on a fast break. I also wouldn’t expect him to just lay on the floor either. I get some of the noise is overwhelming, but don’t get influenced by it.
If the game was close at the end, then yes the players did actually try to win. Actual defense being played and players moving around without the ball. Watch the final five minutes of the 2001 game.
This is the one I always point to. VC15 was my favorite at the time, and his contest on Duncan to seal game was super exciting.
I really don’t think the NBA should have ever moved away from East vs West. Sure the West has had more talent for a while, but that doesn’t make the game a forgone conclusion.
Didn’t Kobe and Wade get into it or something?
Yeah, Wade broke Kobe’s nose. I forget which year though
Wade broke kobes nose grabbing him for a hard foul and kobe being kobe said he liked it
Idk if KD knows this but he’s part of the older generation lol
Only major sport where “ball was so much better back then” is widely accepted. You watch old film and the players look like they are moving in slow motion.
Early 2000’s were a hell of a lot more competitive than today. People aren’t demanding it get treated like game 7 of the NBA finals, but they could at least try a little, instead its just an unwatchable clown show. Might as well not even do it if the players wont try
If you’re gonna judge these dudes damn near solely on championships, i wouldn’t give a fuck about a game that doesn’t count neither
This discourse has been so annoying lmao why do you guys care so much about the asg? It’s really not that big of a deal. It’s a pickup game. Not the NBA finals
The only memorable asg I remember was when magic came back. Literally the only thing I remember from 37 asgs.
Bitch you are the older generation. Your pussy ass is the exact problem
U telling em nephew
Bro the all star game was NEVER at any point competitive. I don’t know why there is so much revisionist history and guys acting like they play hard for 48 straight minutes back in the day
Another case of nostalgia for things that never happened. KD is 100% right.
He’s right, we just hyperfocus on 2001 and a few others to push that narrative. It’s almost always been half assing for 3 quarters and if it ain’t a blowout then they would play hard.
Nostalgia always gets us lol.
Dude have you actually watched the old 90s tapes recently? There’s a huge difference between then and now, it’s like a pickup game versus dicking around in the backyard.
If anything, memory is working in the other direction here because everyone back then complained about the effort being shit, so when the effort actually got way worse we get people like you saying “lol it’s always been bad”.
He’s right ppl are going over board acting like the old all star games were so rough and tough
from what I remember they used to mess around the first 3 quarters then try in the 4th
The running joke for all star games when I was growing up was “defense won’t be played until the fourth”
I remember in the 90s when I first got into basketball it being really good idk when that stopped however
KD is just straight bullshitting bruh c’mon now
Thank you!
The way people talk about the All Star Game is crazy. It’s always been a joke. I have yet to hear anybody make a convincing case for why it needs to continue to exist.
Thanks big kev for shutting it down
The older generation always loves to reminisce about the good old days that sometimes never even existed. I’m 46 and my parents’ generation does it, my generation does it too, and the every subsequent generation will continue to do it. It’s dumb and never ending cycle.
…didn’t KD take shots at Doncic and Jokic for not putting in enough effort?
I agree. I’ve been watching the ASG for 40 years and it’s the same thing it’s always been. It’s just now with social media people complain about everything. So they complain about it all the time.
But like KD said, it’s a celebration of the league. I hope we get another one soon in NYC. I would love to go.
lol foh KD. The old cats went hard in the paint, actually playing D. Y’all soft & don’t bring the intensity.
These dudes look like they don’t care to be there these days. All-star games were never trying 100%, but they still put in effort. Last 10 years there’s really been NO effort.
1996-2006. There are 10 years of some defense, playmaking, and effort.
2009 or 2008 was ok.
It’s funny how media/fans get so riled up about all star selections and then the players don’t even care about the game lol
I used to watch ASG way back the 2000’s era… And its exciting to watch those games, as we have highlight dunks, and playing with effort…
Not like today especially the modern ASG’s where its just a bunch of 3s… People dont ask to play for playoff intensity, just put some effort on the game… Look at 2020’s ASG… Thats the last time i really appreciated watching it…
And KD blaming Luka, Jokic etc for what happened in the All star is a joke… If i remember way back before the prime of those euro players, ASG is starting to get worst, in fact its being saved by the 3 point shoot out already…. (Not to mentioned the All star slam dunk contest which is way bad since Lavine vs Gordon)
This sub sucks so much now holy shit. I will not be gaslit into believing this horse shit. Basketball existed before 2013, I promise you.
I always thought Kobe was a dork for COMPETING during the ASG. Dude had no friends.
Sox hat?
the old all-star games didn’t have high intesity the entire game. Mostly to finish. I do remember all-star games where guys like Jordan, Iverson, Vince Carter, Kobe played to make a statement for MVP and had some great games.
2020 all star game was sick
I mean ya it’s never been super intense, but now it’s not even fun. Like when the team captain stuff was first introduced, that last quarter was genuinely intense and fun. And even a couple years after when we had dame and curry pulling from half court, that was at least fun. Now it’s literally just a scrimmage with boring shot attempts
Bunch of people commenting and don’t even bother to watch a single game from back in the day.
The games were never ultra competitive. But they weren’t the complete shit show we’ve gotten for the past 15(ish) years. They weren’t going back and forth just seeing who can knock down the deepest 3s. There was at least some semblance of effort. And if the game was close going into the 4th, players locked in.
This guy is a clown who couldn’t even bother to try and make a Horse competition fun. All kd did was shoot from distance.
These divas act like we’re mad they’re not Goin 100%. Even if they did 30% we’d be entertained
This goes to show you that just because an athlete says it doesn’t make it right. You can go watch from back in the day until Kobe last year and see the difference. Ironic that KD even gave that same effort he says he “doesn’t see”
Moron
KD lies a lot.
He’s right. People exaggerate how good the all star game used to be in the 90s and 2000s. Was it slightly more competitive than today? Sure. But even back in the day it was still the lowlight of the weekend
Other NBA stars during the all star break: banging IG models in the hotel room
KD: Grinding tape from 90s all star games lol
He’s right but the final quarter of the 2020 All Star Game was legendary
Its for the young guys and first timers and sleepers like Glen Rice to add something to legendary careers
Every all star game ever, everyone plays chill, everyone gets some scoring in , get some cool dunks, one on ones ect, keep the score somewhat even and then when it’s close in the 4th quarter go hard and try to win.
IMO the allstar game should take the MLB route and have whatever conference wins have home field advantage in the Finals.
It would be fun if they mixed in some college players. Let them have their welcome to the league moments in prime time. Would be good for the league bc GM’s could see how their draft prospects stack up, the NCAA would get to drum up excitement for March Madness, and the NBA All Stars would be motivated to show out with the next generation on the court.
Cap
You know he been watching
It was never great but it was better than what we have gotten lately.
Well I have seen it, watched every ASG for the last 30 years. Was my favorite event growing up.
Not kidding. Shit is soft and boring now
He’s not wrong it was just more dunking
Yea the players back in the days may not have been going 100% but it was at least around 70-80% whereas today, its like 10% and thats only on offense
only time i remember seeing defense in the all star game was when they had the target scores and all that. best all star game we had in a long time and they said nah let’s just keep changing it to something worse every year forward
The Kobe/Iverson game?
They need to do a 21 tournament or a giant game of knock out
He’s right. I’m glad he’s always speaking up about stuff like this
what does the younger generation feel about this era of allstar games and the quality of the game in general, it seems like us older millennials and any one older has been complaining
what about young gen z, and gen alpha what do yall think?
cuz outside of that it just sounds like young old, and old old fans saying the same shit 💩
Fans seem to dislike it and the media constantly complains about it and the players obviously loathe it. The logical thing to do would be to get rid of it. Too much negativity surrounding it.
KD is bitch who hates competition , we knew this when he joined the warriors
Put a $2 million prize on All star game. Winner take all. Let’s see the all stars get serious.
I love him so much
What I remember is them competing in the last quarter, which is a good balance.
If nobody cares about the all star game why are so many fans picking all stars?
This “play hard at the all star game” in my opinion is the dumbest discussion on a league full of dumb discussions
I love how Durant’s position on getting players to care about the All Star game is “Why tho”
You could not pay me to care about the all star game man. I’m genuinely in favor of just not playing it all together and just naming the guys to the teams.
The players hate playing it, fans hate watching it, it doesn’t matter and no one cares.
Watched the Bill Simmons pod with Nick Wright and Wright theorized/joked that in the very near future there should be a whites vs the bros game 😂😂. He also thought that if that happened, nobody was gonna take a play off. Max intensity
The guys that went hard got made fun of. No one is trying to get hurt during an all star game.
Show me a guy in an actual defensive stance like Kobe when he picked up Kidd or Lebron. It’s an absolute whack off contest right now.
Its not that they were so competitive. Its that they actually at least played basketball….
Straight cap rewatch some of those 2000s games they actually wanted to fucking win (they kinda suck at shooting tho lol)
It’s like all the other BS things they claim. It’s all made up. I watched all-star games in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s and can not understand where the “they played hard” claim comes from
If it happens to be close near then end teams will go all in for the last few minutes.
As a new NBA fan, let me say this : I DON’T CARE how the intensity WAS back then. What I know is that the ASGs that I’ve watched for the last couple of years were absolutely horrendous and boring to watch. Give a little effort and make the product interesting for the fans. Have some pride and hunt matchups that could be fun to watch for us. Last year, one good highlight that stood out was kyrie going against wemby for instance. That’s all we’re asking for, genuinely
To be fair even back in the 90’s and early 2000 the games started off with flash. Guys showing their skill to the world. No problem with that. The second half is usually when the games buckled down and became competitive. I get guys are more into their brands now but they need to find a way to make the second half more competitive. We want guys to want to win it