If you've talked to anyone over the age of 50 about the NBA recently, you've probably heard about how much it's changed since the 90s. Everything from the physicality to the number of three-point shots taken a game is different, and not everyone believes the current product is as good as it once was. This includes former President Barack Obama, who noted one NBA event he'll be skipping on the 2025 TV schedule if it doesn't improve.
Speaking to Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton on the Young Man and The Three, Obama shared a major gripe he has with the NBA's current situation. He sadly didn't use this chance to bash the league for endangering the safety of Inside The NBA, but did bring up his big issue with the annual All-Star Game, and it's on that I agree with. As he put it:
Can I say something though? You all have to have a little more pride in that All-Star Game. I mean, look, it's not as though you don't play pick-up in the summer. You know how to play in a way that, 'Alright, I'm not going to hurt anybody. I'm not going to take anybody out.' That All-Star game, it's gotten...it's broke man. People just like, not running. It used to be–When Kobe [Bryant] and Michael [Jordan] and Isiah [Thomas]: when those guys were playing, they weren't playing the way they did regular season, but they wanted to win. . . . It insults the game.
He's not lying. Watch The Last Dance with a Netflix subscription, and you'll see that Michael Jordan, as well as every other superstar of that era, remained competitive when it came to just about anything. Isiah Thomas even called out a fan a while back for trying to say that Home Alone's Kevin McAllister wouldn't have a poster of him, so I'd argue a lot of those guys still have that competitive drive to this day.
Barack Obama is also correct in saying that current NBA superstars do not take the All-Star Game seriously. Tyrese Haliburton didn't deny it and even confessed they ignored older legends who tried to come in and encourage them to play better. Despite that, the former President of the United States did what he could in an attempt to explain why they need to take it seriously rather than goof off:
This is your business, this is your product. You don't want people out there thinking you're just half-assing it...Ya'll gotta do something because I ain't watching that thing no more.
This gripe isn't new among NBA fans, to be sure. With zero stakes in who wins or loses and players with multi-million dollar contracts on the line, there's little incentive for them to risk injury by putting on a regular-season performance. The game is also closer to the postseason, where injuries can derail a franchise's hopes for a championship. With nothing to play for, some might consider a star going all-out foolish.
Adding stakes to the All-Star game would encourage players to take the game more seriously, as the same tactic worked for the Emirates In-Season tournament. A cash incentive, plus added win totals for the teams that advance, was a nice perk, but maybe the All-Star event could up the ante. For example, maybe the winning division gets home-court advantage in the NBA Finals.
If I were the NBA, I would consider it after this. A former President of the United States openly calling out a major highlight of your season as "broken" is a problem and one that the league should work to fix. Once that's done, maybe they can also find a way to replicate the success of Inside The NBA because I can already tell I'm going to be complaining when TNT doesn't have games anymore.
The NBA season is currently underway, and CinemaBlend has plenty of fans keeping tabs on the entertainment-related stories emerging from the regular season. Keep a look out for that, and for those who like Barack Obama's take above, check out who Shaquille O'Neal called out as two of the worst players in the league.
