I understand the game of basketball is not just a sport, but it’s also entertainment, especially when it’s played at the highest level. However, I am more entertained when I’m watching it played in the traditional sense. That’s five-on-five, full-court basketball, offensive players trying to score the basketball, and defensive players trying to stop them from scoring. ‘
Now I get it, every game may not be competitive, due to injuries or one team possibly having superior skills, etc. On the other hand, I do expect every player on the court to compete. This brings me to the 2023 NBA All-Star game held last weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The lack of competitiveness from the NBA players participating in the event was at an all-time high. I mean there were a bunch of half-court shots, absolutely no defense, and just nonchalant play altogether. Even by All-Star standards, this was horrible. I thought while watching this that I was the only person who had a problem with this, but I wasn’t.
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who was selected to coach Team LeBron in the game, said basically the same thing.
Malone called it “the worst basketball game he’s ever seen.” @AltitudeTV pic.twitter.com/LgULYM2prz
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) February 20, 2023
His comments although said with a smile on his face were harsher; he called it “the worst basketball game ever played.” Ironically, the game has been rebranded to honor the late great Kobe Bryant. There is a wrinkle to adding 24 points to the team’s scores in the final quarter. The MVP trophy is named after him, but the game does nothing to honor his legacy.
People who watched Kobe play, know he went hard no matter when or where the game was played. He took it as a personal challenge to compete against his peers and show them that he was superior. I don’t know what incentive the NBA could use to get players more excited to play in the game, but they need to figure it out. I know back in the day; the winning team won more money than the losing team. Now the money goes to charity, which is fine, but it doesn’t seem to get the players hyped.
Maybe they need to split the money between charities and the players. I personally don’t have the answers, but I do have a memo to the NBA: Y’all need to fix this!