NBA All-Star Game Reimagined As Mini Tournament, Players & Social Media Hated It

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As ratings continue to decline for the NBA, aside from the playoffs, All-Star weekend is supposed to be a time that most fans tune in, and this was the first year of an entire overhaul.

The celebrity game, three-point contest, and slam dunk contest went off without a hitch, but the real test was Sunday’s penultimate All-Star game, which was flipped on its head.

For the first time, the typical high-scoring, defenseless game wasn’t present. Instead, organizers opted for a mini tournament comprised of four teams, battling it out in three shorter games where the first to 40 points wins, and TNT’s Inside the NBA crew acting as general managers.

First up were Kenny Smith’s Young Stars, with players like Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, and Tyler Herro, who went up against Charles Barkley‘s Global Stars, composed of stars like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama. With Anthony Edwards out with a cold, Chuck’s team came out on top 41-32.

Then, before the second game started, YouTube sensation MrBeast hosted a quick half-court shot contest between a lucky fan and Damian Lillard for a chance to win 100,000. They each took turns heaving shots, and to level the playing field, Lillard had to make three while the fan just had to sink one. Eventually, the random fan makes the shot as Shaq, Kenny, and a bunch of teams’ mascots rally around him before tossing him into a box stuffed with dollar bills.

Afterward, we finally got back to another tourney game, in which Shaquille O’Neal’s OGs, comprised of veteran talents like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving, raced to 40 points against Candace Parker’s Rising Stars. Even with James bowing out of the game with an ankle injury –ending his 20-year All-Star Game steak– the OGs ultimately beat the Rising Stars 42-35, who were able to hang around for a while.

That set up the Final between the OGs and Chuck’s Global All-Stars, which wasn’t as competitive as expected, with the former winning 41-25.

Sharpshooter Steph put on a clinic as soon as the game tipped off. He immediately shot a running three off one leg and later shot a half-court three to put his team up by double digits. He ended the game with 12 points and was awarded his second MVP trophy, fittingly, as his team’s city hosted All-Star Weekend in the Bay Area.

While the mini-tournament was a refreshing way to remix an aging formula that fans were vocal about being stale, the splitting up of competition created lots of breaks, which left fans with Kevin Hart banter, commercials, and a musical tribute to the Bay Area—highlighted by E-40 and Too $hort—instead of more playing time.

See how social media is sounding off about the revamped All-Star game below.

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