Charles Barkley Takes Shot at All-Star Weekend Revealing The Only “Good Thing” About Record-Low Ratings

You know something’s off when even Stephen Curry casually draining deep threes isn’t enough to keep fans watching. That’s exactly what happened during the NBA All-Star Weekend, as the league’s new format failed to breathe life into the mid-season showcase. The changes were supposed to reignite fan interest, but instead, the event delivered another underwhelming performance. And with ratings hitting rock bottom, Charles Barkley couldn’t help but take a sarcastic shot at the whole situation.

“Complaining about the All-Star format does nothing good for our product. You know the good thing about, I’m not going to lie, we don’t have to televise that thing anymore,” Barkley said. Now, say what you will about Chuck’s bluntness, but he’s got a point. The numbers back him up in a big way.

According to media analyst Ryan Glasspiegel, this year’s All-Star Game averaged just 4.7 million viewers across TNT platforms—a 13 percent drop from last year. That makes it the second-least-watched All-Star Game in history, barely edging out 2023’s dismal 4.6 million viewership.

If that doesn’t paint a concerning picture, here’s something even worse: the last three All-Star Games have all failed to hit six million viewers. Before 2023, that had never happened in NBA history. So, what’s going wrong? Charles Barkley has an answer, and he isn’t sugarcoating it.

“I’m not even upset because if y’all [the league supertsars] don’t take it serious, why should the network and the fans take it serious?” Chuck said. “So y’all complaining about the format, y’all are the reason the format’s bad.”

It’s hard to argue with him. For years, fans have complained that the All-Star Game has become nothing more than a glorified layup line. There’s no real defense, no real effort—just highlights with little substance. If the biggest stars on the planet treat it like an exhibition, why should anyone else care?

However, the players’ lack of effort wasn’t the only thing that tanked the ratings this year. The All-Star event ran straight into a buzzsaw—one that even Chuck himself would have a tough time competing against. SNL 50. The Saturday Night Live 50th-anniversary special aired at the same time and absolutely crushed it. NBC, which is set to take over NBA All-Star Weekend coverage next year, pulled in a massive 14.8 million viewers for the special—more than triple its usual audience.

Even Charles Barkley, who hosted SNL back in 2018, knows what the All-Star Game was up against. A historic 50-year celebration of one of television’s most iconic shows. The ratings battle was over before it even started. But Chuck wasn’t just there to criticize the NBA All-Star. He actually had a solution in mind, one he’s been pushing for years.

“I’ve said it for five to seven to ten years. International against the United States, let’s try it,” he suggested on The Steam Room. Interestingly, this has become a hot topic recently, with many others desiring something similar.

The incoming support for World vs USA as the new All-Star event

The NBA All-Star Game might get the shake-up fans didn’t know they needed. Imagine this: instead of the usual East vs. West or the player draft format, the league goes all in on a World vs. USA matchup. Sounds intense, right? Well, some of the biggest international stars are all for it.

French phenom Victor Wembanyama didn’t hold back his excitement. “I would love to. My opinion is that it’s more purposeful,” he told reporters. And if that wasn’t convincing enough, Giannis Antetokounmpo took it up a notch. “There’s more pride in it. More stakes,” the Greek superstar said. “I would love that. I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format… For sure, I’d take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.”

And that’s exactly what the All-Star format has been needing: some extra competitiveness. So it’s easy to see why this idea has so much appeal. And why Charles Barkley, despite being the GM in recent format, is supporting this new idea.