That was yet ANOTHER embarrassment to the league. The NBA is really in the midst of a massive player entitlement crisis for these pathetic, embarrassing “all-stars” have disgraced the NBA All-Star game ONCE AGAIN!
How many more times do these players need to show their abject disdain for the sport of basketball before the NBA takes actions against them?!?!?!
Despite being paid incentives to compete ON TOP OF THEIR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, the NBA all-stars have mocked, belittled, and disrespected the NBA All-Star game for another season as the two teams combined for an NBA record 397 points. And, like I said in the title, these players need to be shown the same disrespect and apathy if this behavior is to stop.
Okay, so, the NBA All-Star games sucks! And I mean SUCKS!!!
Not only did the “All-Stars” once again show their disdain and apathy for the very league that has risen a good handful of these players out of poverty, crime-stricken home neighborhoods, or terrible homes, but they are now at the point of openly laughing and mocking the fans, past players and NBA personal, and the league itself during one of the most celebrated times of the season.
I mean, this weekended is supposed to showcase the very best the NBA has to offer through the famed 3-point shooting contest, the legendary Dunk contest that has seen the likes of Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, and Kobe Bryant all compete in and win, skills competitions, and the “greatest pick-up game in the world” (Kobe Bryant’s own words) in the All-Star game.
And, this year saw the greatest even the NBA has thought of in a WHILE with the Golden State Warriors Steph Curry and the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu, the two best 3-point shooters in their, respective, sports and leagues, go head-to-head in a 3-point contest. And it was GREAT!
I was on my seat watching Sabrina Ionescu silence any of her doubters as she scored 26 points from beyond the 3-point line, which matched the winning tally Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard scored earlier Saturday night in the official 3-point contest. Yet, as Steph Curry always does, he stole the show from beyond the arc as he nailed 29 points to not only beat Ionescu, but also every single shooter in both phases of the 3-point contest.
Like I said, the 3-point contest and this basketball “battle between the sexes” was amazing to watch…but then we had to be pulled back into reality and see abject awful product in the rest of the competitions. The skills competition was fine if not pretty dull in its execution, while the Dunk contest was literally contested between Jaylen Brown and 3 G-Leaguers.
Sure, Mac MacLung is a great dunker and more than deserving of his back-to-back Dunk competition championships and Jaylen Brown has my respect for competing, but there really isn’t three other NBA caliber-players worthy of competing in the Dunk competition? Really?
And the worst event of the night was BY FAR the All-Star game itself. I’m sorry, but these “all-stars” (they’re more like ass-stars with how they treat the fans, league, and past players) so obviously couldn’t care less about competing at just 70%-80% that they made the Celebrity All-Star game look like prime 90’s basketball.
These buffoons (not all, but 95% of them) almost scored 400 points in a single basketball game! 400 points! Did they suddenly forget defense and positioning was a part of the game?
This is where the NBA is with the lack of care from its star players, and it doesn’t just stop at the All-Star game! The NBA has had to implement the Play-In tournament to stop teams and players from just bottoming out their rosters post the trade deadline, the In-Season tournament to provide incentives for players to actually player at 100% in early regular season games, the 65-game rule for all awards and honors so players don’t miss half the season on load management, and now the All-Star game prizes have been raised to over $500k per player for the winning team.
And these players STILL show the bare minimum effort!
Alright, I think this article might be a bit of a hot take as I’m pissed off about the decline of the All-Star game and the respect for the NBA in general, but I don’t see why ANY of the players on that court last night should be given any future personal awards or nominations.
Starting with King James himself for he (in my opinion) is almost solely responsible for the decline of player attitudes and care for the NBA and basketball himself (as he has been the best player, the most vocal player, and the player with the most sway over the last 20 years), I would remove EVERY SINGLE All-Star selections for those who show such little attitude and regard for the NBA and make them ineligible for any All-NBA, All-Defensive, All-Rookie, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, etc. awards until they show their commitment to the league that pays them hundreds of millions.
I know this sounds harsh, but these players have shown repeatedly that they DON’T CARE about anyone but themselves. Oh, they want to squeeze as much money out of the NBA TV and sponsorship deals as possible, but they couldn’t care less about the events the NBA puts on for us fans, the teams, and the general marketing of the game and league.
Why should they be rewarded with behavior that WILL (not maybe, will!) destroy the NBA with the highest honors?
The great Larry Bird once said to future generations, “Leave the game better than the way you found it.” Now, tell me, do you REALLY THINK these players have left the game better off than the way the found it? And should they REALLY be rewarded with such apathy?
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