By: Matthew Du; Staff Writer
The above image is used for informational purposes under fair use. All rights and credits are retained by the NBA (Sources: NBA.com (archived version), Fair use)
From February 14th to the 16th, the annual NBA All-Star game came to San Francisco at Chase Center for the first time since 2000 when it was held at Oakland Arena, formerly known as Oracle Arena. Fans were very excited for the All-Star game to come to the Bay Area as the NBA recently changed the format of the game. However, All-Star Weekend has left some fans disappointed while others had positive reviews.
When the first NBA All-Star game first started in 1951, it featured two teams, the East vs. West. This was the birth of the new NBA All-Star game format that went all the way until 2018. In 2018, the NBA announced a new format for the All-Star game, captains drafting. This change was made to create a new and different style of basketball for the fans to watch. The two players who led the fan vote, regardless of their conference, would draft All-Star players to their team. This change would go into effect until last year in 2024, where they would return back to the classic, traditional format of East vs. West.
However, in recent years of the NBA, viewership of basketball has been on a decline and have been dropping since 2020. The NBA is trying to revive the state of basketball so the NBA announced a new All-Star game format for this year’s 2025 All-Star game.
The new format included a four-team tournament with one team being the winner of the Risings Stars game. Players would be voted by fans and then they would be put into a pool to get drafted by TNT’s Inside the NBA analyst crew, Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq), Charles Barkley (Chuck), and Kenny “The Jet” Smith. TNT studio analyst and WNBA player, Candance Parker would be the Rising Stars team manager. Each game would be played to a target score of 40 with single elimination.
In addition to the change with the All-Star game, the NBA also changed the Risings Stars contest as three teams comprised of the top rookies and sophomores would be drafted by members of the legendary Run TMC squad consisting of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. The last team would be top G-league players managed by former NBA player Jeremy Lin.
Many fans who watched the All-Star game were visibly upset and frustrated with the new format as there was not a lot of basketball being played. Elite players like LeBron James sat out the All-Star game with an injury while Anthony Edwards was out with a cold. Many fans were also upset with Kevin Hart as he was invited to be a commentator and a guest. Many fans said he was “annoying” and “he’s not funny.”
According to a post by ClutchPoints NBA on their Instagram, of the three hour total air time of the game on TNT, only 33 minutes and 44 seconds of it was real basketball while the other 2 hours and 26 minutes were all commercials and breaks. (ClutchPoints NBA)
This year’s NBA All-Star game had the second lowest views with only 4.7 million viewers, which has been down 13% from 2024, per an article by The Score. The least watched NBA All-Star game was in 2023 racking up only 4.6 million views, based on a chart by Sports Media Watch. (The Score)
However, fans were happy with the Dunk Contest and they believed Mac McClung saved the Dunk Contest. Some said it was the best part about this year’s All-Star Weekend.
Freshman Messiah Lacsamana commented on the experience saying, “My overall experience with the 2025 All-Star game being in the area. Pretty happy about it because it’s where I live. I was excited because I love watching Curry play, seeing LeBron, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and all the All-Stars all in one facility.”
Lacsamana thought the best part of the All-Star game was the 3-point contest where Warriors own Buddy Hield almost won. He also didn’t believe that Kevin Hart was that bad as “Kevin Harts just jokes though so if you take it at heart, it’s not really that deep.”
Lacsamana suggested that the NBA should change the All-Star game format to a 1 vs. 1 contest.
Freshman Ellis Offril (9) was glad that Steph Curry won [All-Star] MVP. Offril criticized Kevin Hart saying, “He’s funny, but kind of doing too much sometimes.”
Sophomore Brayden Beliso (10) didn’t like how both teams weren’t playing defense and were allowing them to score. Beliso did enjoy the dunk contest though. He thinks Kevin Hart was funny.
Warriors pre and post game show host and NBC Sports Bay Area analyst, Bonta Hill commented on his experience saying, “My experience is a little different than others. I think NBA All-Star Weekend is always awesome. NBA All-Star Weekend was a smashing success in the Bay Area. I mean we had NBA availability Saturday in Oakland, California and the old Oracle Arena, which is awesome players kind of reminiscing about their memories of Oracle Arena. Obviously the weekend about Stephen Curry being the ambassador of the All-Star game. I thought Mac McClung put on a show with the slam dunk contest. Three point shootout was fun.”
Hill’s favorite part about the All-Star game was All-Star Saturday Night because of Mac McClung and Stephon Castle’s electrifying dunks and the 3-point contest with Buddy Hield trying to win his second 3-point contest.
Hill added, “I thought players were playing hard early on. The problem was during the new format there’s too many breaks from the action, too many commercials and too much standing around. After winning their first game, they didn’t play for another hour so you got cold and risk injuries.”
Hill was not happy with Kevin Hart’s appearance in the game stating, “Kevin Hart was just talking all throughout the game, which I thought it took away from the actual experience. We’re not there to listen to Kevin Hart, we are there to watch basketball so that was one thing that I wasn’t too enamored with.”
Hill suggest that the NBA reverting back to the East vs. West format or try a different format with USA vs. World like hockey.
