LeBron James Addresses Controversial All-Star Format After Kevin Durant Blasts Change

The Lakers star had thoughts about the All-Star format that spilled into the quality of the NBA product currently.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James gave his thoughts on the league's new All-Star game format.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James gave his thoughts on the league's new All-Star game format. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The NBA All-Star game will look quite a bit different this year, as the league has elected to move into a format where the All-Stars are broken up into four teams. Teams will play in a semifinal with the winners advancing to the All-Star game final.

Each team will have eight players, with three teams featuring 24 NBA All-Stars and the other team featuring the players from the team that wins the NBA's Rising Stars game.

Kevin Durant blasted the new format earlier this week. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James wouldn't go that far, but did note some other issues facing the league today when asked about the All-Star event.

"Everyone has their own opinions," James said when asked about the league's new All-Star format. "It's different, you know, in a sense. But I don't - we'll see. We'll see when we get there. ...I don't know. I have my ideas of what could possibly work, but I'm not gonna [go into] that...but listen, it's a bigger conversation. It's not just the All-Star game, it's our game in general. Our game there's a lot of f-----g threes being shot. So it's a bigger conversation than just the All-Star game."

James has seen the All-Star game take on different iterations throughout his two decades in the NBA, but this year's will certainly be the most unique to-date.

It remains to be seen if new format will solve the league's popularity issue when it comes to the event itself, but it's certainly worth a try.


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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.