The NBA cannot save the All-Star Game

The All-Star Game was once a pivotal event in the NBA regular season calendar, and not just because of the timing. It was an anticipated and cherished night by the public, pitting the league's brightest stars against each other, yes, but on which basketball was played. And it was serious business, if only because of the attendance figures, which were not a given until the 2000s. Today, however, the All-Star Game is one of the weakest offerings on the entire NBA calendar. It's an event that's in a decade-long (and perhaps irreversible) slump in terms of ratings, storytelling and interest. There is no solution to a limitation that has received far too much attention: the inability to offer anything interesting without a vaguely competitive foundation.

For years now, the NBA has been looking for solutions to patch up a product that is increasingly unattractive to fans, broadcasters and sponsors. Not without courage and creativity. In 2025, Adam Silver and Co. revolutionised the game plan once again at the Chase Centre in San Francisco, home of the Golden State Warriors: they introduced a tournament in which four teams competed against each other in games without a shot clock, with the target score set at 40 points. The idea was to provide a little more intensity and pathos, but the result was the same as the last experience.

How the All-Star weekend went

Of course, the All-Star Weekend is not just about the Sunday game. Aside from the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, which has never generated any particular interest (and has been in freefall for some time), there's Saturday, with the only part of the show - three point shot and dunk contests - that seems to retain an identity despite losing the ability to surprise us. At the Chase Centre, however, there was a reversal. The Three Point Contest was pretty forgettable with the surprise win by Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat, while the Slam Dunk Contest provided excitement thanks to the usual Mac McClung, who scored his third consecutive win by also jumping over a car parked under the basket. Confirmation that the interest in individual contests is still there if the content lives up to expectations and there is a real story to be told about them.

But back to Sunday's game between the best basketball players in the world, which should theoretically be the highlight of the weekend. If in previous editions people have complained about the complete lack of defense and the listless approach of the players, and in recent editions especially about the brain-dead format of trying to score with the Elam Ending, this year's experiment has made the event even more fragmented and scattered, apart from a barely perceptible improvement in the players' efforts. In the eyes of an audience that now gets to see these players three times a week, little or nothing has changed in a context that - even in the least intense regular-season contests -is more competitive than the All-Star Game.

The new All Star Game format

The format change introduced by the NBA (and perhaps a little too experimental) has had mixed, but mostly negative reactions. Players liked the idea of reduced minutes, but had difficulty digesting the number and length of the breaks. Not to mention the spectators. In fact, the pace of the evening, where there were many more breaks than basketball was played, was downright disrupted. With three hours of broadcast time, the effective time was 27 minutes. The rest was adverts, constant speeches from Kevin Hart and entertainment faces like Mr Beast more than sport; and at the climax of the evening, an endless tribute to the three historic voices of TNT Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.

The semi-finals offered some interesting insights, especially in the showdown between “Chuck's Global Stars” and “Kenny's Young Stars",” which saw a more active defense and lower scoring rates than the last All-Star Games. However, the final, which were won by “Shaq's OGs",” was a return to less appreciated habits. Zero defence, shot after shot from every spot on the field and a general lack of interest in scoring and competing. It's a film you've seen before and no one is asking for a sequel.

In recent years, the ratings of the All-Star Game have fallen dramatically, down to 5.3 million viewers in 2024 (USA), the second worst figure ever. The year 2025 does not appear to reverse the trend, although official figures are not yet available. However, we do know that the NHL has lured away some of the viewers with its new “4 Nations Face-Off” event, which averaged 4.4 million viewers over the course of the evening and peaked at 5.2 million viewers.

Ratings are dropping, stars are less and less interested in playing (LeBron James cancelled the event at very short notice) and the NBA no longer knows where to put its head to find a format that works. Some players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, have suggested a return to a game between the U.S. and the rest of the world; others have said they're intrigued by the idea of a one-on-one tournament. The truth, however, is that in an era where All-Stars earn hundreds of millions of dollars, there is no sporting or economic incentive for them to seriously play a worthless game and risk injury.

At this point, it begs the question: can an event that proves year after year that no one cares anymore be saved? Perhaps it is simply time to come to terms with the dwindling appeal of the All-Star Game. The public isn't asking for a different format, they just want players to take the competition seriously - without overdoing it. And that's a demand that no formula can ever fulfil without the willingness of those on the court.