Phew! The rush of the NBA All-Star weekend is over, and now comes the time for review. While many of the events stayed the same, the main attraction was different this year. With the format change, Commissioner Adam Silver hoped to reignite the excitement and energy of the All-Star Game. But did it? Despite the efforts, things didn’t quite go as planned. The less competitive label was once again slapped on it. And of course, how could the ever-vocal Stephen A. Smith sit back and stay silent? But this time, he went a step further, and revealed some inside details that would surely turn heads!

The discussion came up on First Take, and it was clear that Stephen A. was frustrated with the lack of effort from the players. He began by highlighting, “If you watch these guys simply working out in the off season, they gave 10 times more effort there than they did the last three or four All-Star weekends.” Honestly, there wasn’t much wrong with it. What was supposed to be the star of the show ended up being played half-heartedly as most players seemed to focus on avoiding injury, treating the All-Star as an unserious event.

The ESPN analyst called it a “travesty,” and an “embarrassment,” claiming it had “sullied the (NBA) brand.” Stephen A. also pointed out, “You have players who are making generational money that are snubbing their nose at their own product.” And here comes the crucial part. Going into more detail, he disclosed, “I’ve had a very prominent agent say to me, quote, ‘The problem is the players look at the NBA like a bank instead of as partners. The league emphatically disagrees with this assertion that they don’t treat the players well, that they don’t prioritize them during All-Star weekend’ and stuff like that.” Wait till you hear who it came from. “These are the things that have been said to me by league officials,” he added. This certainly raises a lot of questions regarding the second-guessing within the league.

He also took a dig at the large sums of money players earn for an event they don’t put much effort into. Despite this, there was some praise. Stephen A. applauded the league for attempting a new All-Star Game format with four teams instead of the traditional East vs. West, though he felt “it wasn’t the greatest idea.” And he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. There were more critical reviews, which would only add pressure on Adam Silver.

Pressure mounts on Adam Silver after Stephen A. Smith’s comments and All-Star weekend criticism

For a while, the All-Star event has been under scrutiny. The drama, the buzz, the viewership; none of it has been where Silver and his officials would have wanted it to be. They’ve tried different approaches, like last year’s special 3-point contest between NBA’s Stephen Curry and WNBA’s Sabrina Ionescu, which did bring in more views. But this year, that idea was turned down. Instead, they introduced the mini-tournament format in the NBA All-Star Game, but even that wasn’t a complete success. It’s not just about Stephen A. Smith’s remarks, but the major issue was that only 42 minutes of actual gameplay occurred within the 3-hour show.

It is not the end of the list as more concerns are popping up for the commissioner. Reportedly, an anonymous NBA GM stated, “Adam Silver is obsessed with tournaments. Play-in, in-season, now All-Star. They’ve not proven to benefit our league.”

But it seems Mr. Silver has had enough. There are already discussions going on about three potential changes the league might adopt for the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend, which could benefit the NBA. Whether these changes will hit the mark or if things will stay the same remains to be seen next year. For now, all eyes will shift back to the regular season.