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Dave McMenamin
Various Writers
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The prior occasion San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama competed against a squad brimming with American basketball luminaries was when France and the USA contested an unforgettable gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
As the NBA debuts a revised All-Star Game structure this weekend, aiming to harness that intense competitive drive by dividing players into two squads, one comprising Americans and the other global athletes — a departure from the conventional Eastern and Western Conference lineups — Wembanyama committed to ensuring Sunday’s contest would be impactful.
“Highlight-reel plays, maintaining a strong performance, and energetically distributing the ball,” Wembanyama remarked on Saturday when questioned about his approach to establishing a competitive atmosphere. “Should you disseminate that vigor, individuals will perceive an obligation to reciprocate it.”
Given that recent All-Star Games scarcely resembled an actual NBA contest — highlighted by the East’s 211-186 triumph in 2024 in Indianapolis, marking the event’s low point, particularly as it occurred after legendary figures Larry Bird and Julius “Dr. J” Erving had implored players before the match to treat it with greater earnestness — Wembanyama asserted that the current year would diverge.
“I possess conviction regarding the trajectory this will take,” Wembanyama stated.
However, certain American luminaries expressed reservations.
Upon being questioned whether the All-Star event could replicate that level of intensity, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who participated in that Parisian gold medal contest, unequivocally responded, “Absolutely not.”
When prompted for further explanation, the four-time All-Star, competing for the more youthful USA Stars roster, declared, “That occasion was the Olympics. The explanation is quite straightforward.”
Kevin Durant, a venerable 16-time All-Star representing the experienced USA Stripes squad, contended that the NBA All-Star Game has never truly matched the competitive fervor it is often nostalgically recalled to possess.
“I simply believe that supporters and journalists require an object for their grievances, and the All-Star Game fails to evoke the same sentiments they experienced during their youth,” Durant commented on Saturday. “They constantly seek something to criticize. In my honest opinion, the All-Star Game and the entire All-Star Weekend are not of such immense consequence. We are merely present to commemorate the sport of basketball. Audiences continue to arrive to honor the game. They attend to observe.
“Individuals watching from their residences express dissatisfaction with the match and its vigor. I doubt we will ever transcend that concern, yet to witness everyone still gathered, participating, fulfilling their roles, advancing the sport throughout this weekend, traversing the metropolis reveals an abundance of dynamism, and numerous former legends.”
Durant mentioned having dedicated hours on YouTube viewing All-Star matchups spanning from the 1960s up to the 1990s.
“My objective was to ascertain the significance and if the competitive drive truly mirrored a Game 7, as you all described it from that era. … And it did not,” Durant declared. “The fervent competitive spirit the preceding generations have often discussed, I’m uncertain if I have actually witnessed it, you understand?”
Nonetheless, not every participant failed to discover something admirable within previous All-Star contests.
Although Sunday’s event will ascertain whether the revamped structure elevates the experience, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, attending his second All-Star event, expressed a desire to revert to the customary conference-based rivalry, following the league’s experimentation with player captain selections, a target score conclusion, and currently the USA versus the World format.
“My preference would be to participate in an East versus West confrontation,” Cunningham remarked. “I yearn to engage in the kind of competition that all the esteemed players took part in. … I am confident it will eventually be reinstated.”
