Stephen A. Smith: The NBA Needs to Get Rid of the All-Star Game

Last night's NBA All-Star Game could barely be called basketball with some of the greatest athletes in the world jogging up and down the court hucking threes for 48 minutes without a care in the world. Some people are very mad about that. Others point out it's an exhibition game and the last five or so years have shown that the best players in any sport are extremely uninterested in giving their best effort for a game that does not matter and thus we shouldn't expect anything different. Commissioner Adam Silver seemed part of the former camp when he gave the most unenthusiastic "congratulations" we've ever seen while handing out the trophies afterwards.

No matter where on the frustration spectrum you fall it is undeniably a bummer that the NBA ASG has sunk this far. It used to be that the guys wouldn't try for three quarters but you'd still be entertained because everyone would dunk and then they'd all lock in for the fourth quarter and actually play. Now everyone just wants to shoot three pointers because it's less taxing, which means fans are treated to something resembling a YMCA open gym instead of a quasi dunk contest, and they do not bother to ramp up intensity or effort at any point. Twenty-four of the highest-paid athletes in sports are simply not going to risk their livelihood and legacies to put on a show on All-Star Weekend anymore.

Stephen A. Smith is, predictably, disgusted by this display and said the NBA should just ditch the game entirely if the players are going to embarrass the league like this every year.

Unfortunately it does seem like the All-Star Game is slated for the same fate as the NFL Pro Bowl. There's just nothing you can put on the line for these guys that will make them care the way the league really, really, really wants them to care. Or even come close, for that matter.

It's more frustrating with the NBA than any other sport because it really would not be that hard to make the game entertaining. Basketball is unique in that you can easily throw 10 stars together and put on an extremely entertaining game. It's not like football or hockey where everyone needs to be more or less on the same page to play well. Pickup culture is ingrained in basketball and that's basically what everyone wants the ASG to be-- the most talented pickup game ever. But the players don't care and so we don't get that.

Smith is known for his hot takes but this is lukewarm at best by this point. Getting rid of it entirely is the logical end-point to this discussion and we're approaching it far more rapidly than the league anticipated. Which is why Silver got so mad last night. So enjoy the ASGs while they last because they may not be around for much longer.