Draymond Green certainly did not hide his hate for the NBA’s latest All-Star Game format.
Speaking as an analyst on TNT’s broadcast, the Golden State Warriors forward dismissed Sunday’s new four-team tournament as a “zero” on a scale of one to 10 and said, bluntly, that it “sucks.”
“This is so unfair to Victor Wembanyama, who just took this game really seriously; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just took this game really seriously,” Green said.
“When you talk about chasing after the points record, Melo, Kobe [Bryant] and all these guys who had great scoring nights, they don’t get the opportunity to do that with this game.”
Under the new format, TNT analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith each drafted an eight-player team out of the 24 All-Stars. The fourth team was the winner of Friday night’s Rising Stars Challenge tournament and was managed by TNT analyst Candace Parker.
Sunday’s tournament featured three games, with the winner of each being the first to score 40 points. O’Neal’s team, led by All-Star Game MVP Stephen Curry, won the tournament at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was on Smith’s team, which lost in its first and only game. Brunson finished with three points in eight minutes. Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns played two games on Barkley’s team and totaled 14 points in 18 minutes.
“You work all year to be an All-Star, and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done,” Green said.
Green, a four-time All-Star, was perhaps the most vocal critic of the new format, which overall drew mixed reviews.
The NBA has been tinkering with its All-Star Game for years, hoping to find a format that incentivizes players to compete at a high level.
Historically, the game has pitted the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference, though in more recent years, teams were drafted by LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Some years featured a “target score” for the teams to play until based on what happened in the first three quarters.
Last year’s game reverted to a more traditional format and was universally panned, with the East beating the West, 211-186, in a contest without a shred of defense.
Sunday’s competition featured more effort than last year’s, particularly from Wembanyama, who finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal over 13 minutes spanning two games.
Curry, who helped the NBA come up with this year’s format, expressed satisfaction with the tournament-style of play but acknowledged more tweaks could come.
“I think it was a good step in the right direction to reinvigorate the game in some way,” the Warriors guard said after totaling 20 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Still, there were complaints.
Prolonged stoppages between the games, including one to celebrate TNT’s partnership with the NBA, threatened the rhythm of players. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum admitted it was “kind of tough to get back into the game after that.”
As Green alluded to, there wasn’t a realistic opportunity for an All-Star to challenge the scoring record, which Tatum set with 55 points in 35 minutes in 2023.
But Barkley took issue with Green’s criticism.
“His generation messed the game up,” Barkley, an 11-time All-Star in his 16 seasons, said during Sunday’s game broadcast. “We’re doing every type of trick to make this weekend exciting.”
The differing opinions could lead to yet another format change, with the idea of pitting U.S. All-Stars against international-born NBA players gaining some momentum. The NHL adopted a similar format this year with its “4 Nations Face-Off” to rave reviews.
“I would love [that],” said Wembanyama, who is French. “My opinion is that it’s more purposeful. There’s more pride in it. More stakes.”
Added the Greek-born Antetokounmpo, “I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I’d take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.”
That format, too, comes with its challenges. About 70% of the NBA’s players are American, meaning selecting 12 All-Stars for the U.S. team and 12 for the international team would likely lead to snubs.
But to some All-Stars, the game format is secondary.
“When you get events like this, All-Star Weekend, we don’t worry about the competition,” said Durant, a 15-time All-Star. “It’s just more about celebrating the basketball family and the community around this time.”