Victor Wembanyama is out for the season, and that sucks.
He was one of the few players who actually cared about the All-Star Game.
That said, this is exactly why people need to chill about the event.
Yes, Wemby’s injury had nothing to do with All-Star Weekend—but what if it did?
People are piling on LeBron James for sitting out. Sure, he could have given his spot to another player if he knew he wasn’t going to play (Norman Powell and Chris Paul were actually in the All-Star Weekend.) And yeah, it’s shady that he skipped the All-Star Game but suited up for the Lakers against Charlotte. But let’s be real—it’s not fair to blame the players entirely. They’re stubborn, but why should they mess up a good thing? And if we’re calling out LeBron, then we should call out Anthony Edwards too, because he pulled the same move.
Another issue? The NBA has 30 teams, yet Cleveland had three All-Stars. That’s not their fault, but what if two of them got hurt during the game? What happens to their playoff hopes then?
Kevin Durant also made some solid points about the format—how the awkward breaks mess up players’ rhythm, how the games end too abruptly once a team hits 40 points, and how the fun is being sucked out of it.
It’s like Roman Reigns hitting a spear, Superman punch, and powerbomb, then finishing the match with a casual jab.
Meanwhile, people are clowning the PBA’s four-point line, but at least it’s a game-changer—and most importantly, it's optional. The number of attempts from that range has actually dropped from the Governors’ Cup to the Commissioner’s Cup, but teams like Blackwater, Phoenix, and Magnolia are making it work, especially when they struggle inside.
The real issue with the All-Star Game (or whatever they want to call it) is that nobody in the NBA sees it as something worth winning. You can innovate it to death, but for as long as the players think it's a waste of energy, then you can't fix it for them. It’s just a semi-mandatory fan service event. When Adam Silver said that some players would use this as stepping stone, he's right in the sense, but that just means the newbies are going to get whipped by the established top stars and when they have thrown the "babies" out of contention, they'll just return to the usual all-star formula.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a cool idea of making it Team USA vs. The World, but honestly, that could backfire. If the game actually becomes competitive, the international players might take it personally, remembering all the struggles they endured just to prove they belong, only to be dismissed by the NBA’s American elite.
Again, Wemby’s injury wasn’t caused by the All-Star Weekend. But let’s be real—an NBA season doesn’t need an overbooked, drawn-out All-Star event to be great.
The Luka Doncic trade shook things up in a way that actually mattered. Whether it was staged or not, it was good for the league. But it also felt like a band-aid solution, sacrificing one market to boost another.
And let’s be honest—most overbooked ideas don’t lead to excitement. They lead to chaos—the bad kind.