The voting gateway for the annual All-Star game is open. And so, the anticipation of the move away from the traditional format has begun to hit the fans. The event now becomes a tournament-style format, with four teams competing in first-to-40 games. Obviously, with any innovation, there is always the potential for it to exceed expectations. However, the players themselves aren’t particularly thrilled by the changes.

Kevin Durant admits to ‘hating it’ and so does Anthony Davis. The most decorated All-Star LeBron James has kept an open mind yet feels what needs to change is the brand of basketball in itself. Now the long list of dislikes also includes Paul George who spoke in detail about the format during his recent podcast episode.

Like the majority of the criticism, rather than the format itself, George wants the All-Star game to become “competitive” again. And in his opinion, having multiple games takes them farther away from such a change. “You know what we already had a hard time with one game. How are we going to have three All-Star games? We had a hard enough time trying to get everyone to compete at a high level in one game” he said on his podcast.

His criticism of the format was largely for those reasons. And George was frank in letting his true feelings be known. “But I don’t like the format if we are not going to be competitive. You know then I still think it’s just a waste of time. But I don’t know. That should be my take on it. I would love to see it go competitive,” he mentioned on Podcast P.

Can the new All-Star game format become competitive like Paul George wants

Over the past few years, irrespective of the format used, the degree of competition during the All-Star games has significantly decreased. It has led to declined interest in the once enthusiastic event altogether. And even the players have addressed the problem in the past. Anthony Davis revealed how the fear of injuries has caused players to derail away from being as competitive as in games.

Still, even he understood that the intensity needs to be higher. Similar to the NBA In-Season Tournament, a monetary reward is another tool the league is using to motivate players. A $1.8 million prize pool has been set with each player on the winning team taking home $125,000. In addition, the beloved TNT crew deciding teams also create another avenue to attract fans.

But ultimately, no matter the format or rules, it all comes down to the player’s willingness to go out and battle hard. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a top candidate to become an All-Star was one of the few players who felt a change “makes sense”. But he also sent a message to the NBA family.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to whether the players want to go at it, and I would love to see that. Love to be a part of that for sure, and hopefully it happens,” said the Oklahoma City Thunder talisman.

At the end of the day, that’s where the solution lies. Finding a healthy balance to avoid mishaps is another part. But the wish from the fans is simple – for the game to look as if it matters rather than it being a scoring spree. Do you think the new format could help with a target score and money to play for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.