Celtics' Jayson Tatum Reacts to Questionable Interruptions in All-Star Game

Matt Levine | Feb 17, 2025

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The NBA All-Star weekend is now over and teams will be looking ahead to the stretch run of the season. But many are still talking about the new format of the All-Star Game, with most fans in agreement that they didn't enjoy the format.

But while many fans didn't enjoy the format, many of the NBA players did. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was one of the players who did enjoy the format but he did have one complaint.

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Like many fans, Tatum wasn't happy with all the different interruptions that took place during the All-Star Game. It felt more like a poorly run show than a basketball game and the players weren't happy.

“The format was cool,” Tatum said. “I think the toughest part, they stopped the game to do the presentation while we were kind of halfway through it. We were sitting down for 20 minutes, whatever it was. It was kind of tough to get back into the game after that.”

Tatum still was engaged during the final championship match, dropping 15 points to help Team Shaq claim the win. But the Celtics star echoed a similar sentiment to many other players.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also weighed in on all the breaks that were happening.

“Breaks, I guess, weren’t ideal,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shot 18-of-23 from the field in two games for the Global Stars. “I would rather play without breaks. But I had fun nonetheless. I feel like it was a little bit more towards the competitive side tonight, which is a good feeling. A step in the right direction.”

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While the All-Star Game didn't go as many fans had hoped, at least the players enjoyed it for the most part. But now, it's time to get back to actual basketball, and the Celtics are focused on winning their second straight NBA title.

Boston has a good chance to repeat this season and they should be considered the favorites to win entering the postseason.

More Celtics news:

Celtics Star Jayson Tatum Wants to Bring WNBA Team to St. Louis

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For more Celtics news and updates, head on over to Boston Celtics on SI