Barack Obama has had enough of the All-Star Game in today’s NBA.
During a conversation with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, the former U.S. president explained that legendary players like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas actually “wanted to win” when they played in the annual event.
The NBA has struggled to make players take the All-Star Game seriously in recent years, and Obama is tired of it.
"Y'all got to have a little more pride in that All-Star Game… It's an insult to the game." -Obama confronts Tyrese about the NBA All Star Game pic.twitter.com/ynmGQaJfBm
— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) October 23, 2024
“Y’all gotta have a little more pride in that All-Star Game,” Obama said. “I mean, look, it’s not as if y’all don’t play pickup during the summers. You know how to play in a way that, ‘Alright, I’m not gon’ hurt anybody. I’m not gon’ take anybody out.’ That All-Star Game, it’s broke, man.
“I mean, people just not runnin’, everybody just tryin’ all kinds of — it used to be, when Kobe and Michael and Isiah and those guys were playin’, man, I mean, they weren’t playin’ the way they did regular season, but they wanted to win. It (the modern All-Star Game) insults the game.”
If the league wants to get Obama to tune in for the All-Star Game in the future, something is going to have to change.
“Y’all need to do somethin’ ’cause I ain’t watchin’ that thing no more,” he said.
Obama is known as a huge basketball fan, but he clearly thinks something is wrong with the midseason event.
These days, the NBA All-Star Game often features a lack of defense, low-effort plays and wild shot attempts. The result is usually a high-scoring exhibition game that nobody seems thrilled to watch or participate in.
The NBA has tweaked the format of the game on multiple occasions, even playing to a target score some years, but the league has yet to find a solution to permanently make the game more competitive.
The NBA is often praised for having some fantastic All-Star events outside of the game itself, including the Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest, but some folks have also become less captivated by those events in recent years — at least with regard to the Slam Dunk Contest in particular. Many fans still love the 3-Point Contest.
It’s worth noting that the NBA isn’t the only league that has struggled to make its All-Star Game pop recently. Other professional sports leagues like the NFL have also experienced the problem.
This season, the NBA All-Star Game will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors. The hope is certainly that the game and its corresponding events will bring some heat, but that’s no longer a guarantee. It will be interesting to see if the league tries anything new this time around in hopes of producing some better results.
If Obama can find time to talk about the All-Star Game during a busy political time in the United States, then hopefully the NBA can find a solution to the ongoing problem.
