The 2023 NBA All-Star Game is in the books, and it was a victory for Team Giannis, which defeated Team LeBron, 184-175.
However, the contest was unsatisfying for many fans, and that has been the feeling about the NBA All-Star Game in general in recent years.
Commentator Jim Rome went as far to say that it was perhaps “the worst basketball ever played.”
Of course I knew it would be terrible, but I wasn't expecting the worst basketball game ever. pic.twitter.com/oPpz7HGBpQ
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) February 20, 2023
Rome also quoted Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who called the game “a disgrace” and Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown who referred to it as a “glorified layup line.”
It’s very hard to argue with Rome, Malone or Brown.
For years now, there has been a glaring lack of defense in the NBA All-Star Game, which is perhaps the reason why fan interest in the league’s midseason classic seems to be very lukewarm.
In past decades, players voted into the contest would play some defense, even if they weren’t doing so as if it were a playoff game, making it a fairly entertaining event.
Yes, scores back then would still get into the 130s, 140s and 150s, but that’s what happens in pro basketball when you have two teams filled completely with stars and superstars.
In 2020, the NBA tried to tinker with the All-Star game format in an effort to make it more competitive by creating a target score in the fourth quarter that a team had to reach to win the game, but it hasn’t seemed to work.
Perhaps it is going in the direction of the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which may be the least-watched All-Star game of the four major sports in North America.
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