NBA: LeBron supports new All Star Game format: ‘Not a bad idea’
Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (23) poses for the Twitter mirror as Kendrick Perkins looks on during the NBA basketball team media day, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Independence, Ohio. AP Photo/Ron Schwane
LeBron James has been a staple in the NBA All-Star games, having been chosen to represent the Eastern Conference for the past 13 seasons.
With Commissioner Adam Silver confirming that this year’s festivities will undergo major changes, the two-time All Star Game MVP said he supports the long overdue adjustment.
READ: NBA changes All-Star Game format; captains will pick teams
“I don’t see it as a bad idea. We had to do something,” the 32-year-old forward told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
James also did not mince his words regarding the event’s non-competitiveness in recent years, as players hardly play any defense and pretty content on just shooting wide open threes.
“The All-Star Game has been pretty bad the last couple years just from a competition standpoint,” he admitted.
“Trying to switch it up. Just like how the dunk contest was at one point it was great, then it wasn’t so well, so they had to kind of switch it up. Then it got good, then it got bad and you switch it up again. You see what happens.”
Still, LeBron does not guarantee the change will indeed bring back the excitement to the once revered sporting spectacle, but he knows it’s worth the shot.
“It’s hard to say if it’s good or bad yet. We haven’t done it yet. February isn’t here yet so no one knows how good or how bad it’s going to be. But I like the change. Why not?” Khristian Ibarrola /ra
