Former President Barack Obama isn’t a fan of the state of the NBA All-Star game.
During an appearance on “The Young Man and The Three” podcast, formerly JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and The Three,” now hosted by Tommy Alter and the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, Obama ripped the league’s midseason showcase, claiming he’s done watching it.
“Y’all gotta have a little more pride in that All-Star Game,” Obama told Haliburton. “It’s not as if you all don’t play pickup during the summers. 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.’ But that All-Star Game, it’s broke, man.
“It insults the game,” he continued. “This is your business. This is your product. You don’t want people thinking you’re all out there just half-assed … Take it more seriously. Y’all need to do something because I ain’t watching that thing no more.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made several tweaks in recent years to spice up the contest, including adding team captains and a draft process to determine the teams before returning to the old format of East vs. West.
As recently as last November, Silver took the blame for the lack of intensity in the NBA All-Star Game.
Before the most recent game last February, Silver spoke out about his hope for a more competitive All-Star Game, with Hall of Famer Larry Bird saying he hoped the players would take it more seriously.
“I know what this league’s all about and I’m very proud of it,” Bird said. “I’m proud of today’s players. I like the game they play. … I think it’s very important when you have the best players in the world together, you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to play hard and you’ve got to show the fans how good they really are.”
The teams would combine to smash scoring records, playing little defense, prompting Silver to strike a different tone.
“We may be just past the point where guys and teams are incentivized to play a competitive All-Star game in the middle of the season,” Silver said during an appearance on “NBA Countdown” in June. “It’s the nature of the league.”