“We’re looking at other formats. I think there’s no doubt that the players were disappointed as well in last year’s All-Star Game,” making a statement back in November, NBA commissioner Adam Silver set out to make some changes. With the NBA Cup series now concluded, the All-Star game is set to be the next big event that will give both fans and players a break from the constant regular season games. However, given how Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu’s Three-Point Contest was reportedly the only memorable part of the previous All-Star game, it was up to the league management to bring a change that they felt would generate more viewership. Recently, that change was announced, and Kevin Durant didn’t waste any time in making his criticism known.

The veteran player, and Phoenix Suns head coach, Mike Budenholzer, were interviewed during the team’s recent practice session. During the same, a reporter gave out details of the upcoming All-Star Game’s new format. Adam Silver brought out a change, under which the NBA will now hold a mini-tournament during the weekend. Four teams will participate in a three-game event. Two teams will play in one semifinal, the other two in the other semifinal. To win each game, a team will have to make 40 points first. On top of that, each team will have only eight players. Hearing all of this, the first thing that came out of Kevin Durant’s mouth was “I hate it.” Additionally, the player did carry a ‘disappointed’ expression before giving his review.

“Absolutely hate it. It’s terrible. All-Star game, formats changing, all the formats, terrible in my opinion. And we should just go back to East-West. Like, just play a game. I think we’ve been trying to, you know, bring that flare back somehow with the All-Star Weekend, but I think we just keep it traditional,” Durant continued. Despite the criticism, he held to some hope by stating, “But, we’ll see how this one works. You never know, I might be wrong. I’m just another guy with another…with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works.”

Similarly to Kevin Durant, Mike Budenholzer had to be explained about the new change in the All-Star game. However, Budenholzer’s reaction contrasted with that of his player when he stated, “I’ll have to read about it. I’ll watch it with great anxiousness or excitement.” If Budenholzer did feel displeased with the changes, then he certainly did a good job hiding his feelings. The Phoenix Suns head coach is willing to give the format a chance before passing out opinions.

It was only recently when OutKick’s Clay Travis highlighted the league’s declining viewership numbers. In his report, he highlighted through his official X account, “NBA ratings are down 48% since 2012. Down 28% this year alone on ESPN. Every other sports league is setting ratings records. Total disaster.” While Travis is known to often bring political discussions into sports and has even highlighted the NBA as “Woke sports,” no one can deny stats. Therefore, both Kevin Durant and Mike Budenholzer unite on a ‘wait-and-see’ point. After all, they may hold differing opinions. However, none of them may want to see the league’s viewership continue going down.

One aspect of the ‘three-game event’ is that the crew of Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal will call out the All-Star draft. Given the trouble that NBA on TNT went through this year, with the future of the renowned crew in doubt, it will be nice to see them together for at least one more All-Star game.

Kevin Durant’s criticism surely needs to be accounted for when it comes to All-Star games. After all, in the 17 years that he has been in the NBA, the power forward has seen enough and achieved enough to form a basis for his critique.

What is Kevin Durant’s record in the All-Star games?

Since his entry into the NBA back in 2007, the selectors have named Kevin Durant to the All-Star team a total of 14 times! If he makes it to the upcoming All-Star game, he will surpass the appearance records of Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Jerry West, etc. He currently ranks 7 on the list of players with the most All-Star appearances.

In the 11 All-Star West-East games that Durant played, he averaged 24.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. They named him the All-Star Game MVP twice, back in 2012 and 2019. Durant made waves in the event right from the start, when he set a Rookie Challenge record, with 46 points, at the 2009 All-Star Weekend.

If someone like Kevin Durant says that all one needs to make the weekend interesting is the East vs. West game, he has a basis for saying so. However, with the passing of time comes the need to change. The need to change brings with it a thirst to experiment. For Adam Silver and other members of the league management, the recent change may help to generate some viewership. In the end, whether the same does happen is something that remains to be seen.