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‘A slap in the face’
Stars don’t want an All-Star Game this year
Published: Mar 04, 2021 05:08 PM
LeBron James Photo: VCG

LeBron James Photo: VCG

This weekend will see the best players in the NBA descend on Atlanta, Georgia, for the annual All-Star Game.

The celebration is more somber this season. It was not meant to happen, with no All-Star weekend planned in the original 2020-21 season when it tipped off in late December.

That one has been hastily arranged has not gone down well with everyone, not least some of the biggest names.

"I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year," LeBron James said last month. "I don't even understand why we're having an All-Star Game."

"We came off a short off-season of 71 days and then coming into the season we were told we were not going to have an All-Star Game so we would have a nice little break," he said.

James and the Los Angeles Lakers were coming off the shortest break of all.

The Lakers beat the Miami Heat in last season's NBA Finals, which were the climax to a season that was finished up in the bubble at Walt Disney World in Florida as the NBA battled the coronavirus pandemic.  

"Five days [in March] from the 5th through the 10th, an opportunity for me to kind of recalibrate for the second half of the season. My teammates as well. Some of the guys in the league," James said of the previously proposed break in games.

"Then they throw an All-Star Game on us like this. It is pretty much a slap in the face."

The All-Star game comes almost a year to the day from the NBA calling off last season midway through as players and staff started testing positive for COVID-19. The world is still battling that and James' opposition to Atlanta is based on that fact.

"We're also still dealing with a pandemic, still dealing with everything that's been going on," he said. "And we're going to bring the whole league to one city that's open, so obviously the pandemic has absolutely nothing to do with it at this point when it comes to that weekend.

"Obviously you guys can see I'm not very happy about it, but it's out of my hands. And I'll be there if I'm selected. But I'll be there physically, but not mentally."

Last season's MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, agreed with the NBA Finals MVP James.

"We gotta all follow the big dog, man," he said referring to 19-time All-Star James.

"The big dog says he has zero excitement, zero energy for the All-Star Game, I'm the same way. Really, right now, I don't care about the All-Star Game. We can't see our families, I can't worry about the All-Star Game, I want to see my family.

"I want to go see my little brother in Spain, I want my brother to come see me. So I'm the same way, I've got zero energy, zero excitement."

It is a job and the NBA is a business, so 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kahwi Leonard suggested in his own concerns over the All-Star Game.

"It is what it is at this point," Leonard said. "We all know why we're playing it. It's money on the line. It's an opportunity to make more money. Just putting money over health right now, pretty much. We're playing games now and it's still a pandemic. I'm doing all these protocols and rules, so it doesn't really surprise me."

Another standout star, Brooklyn Nets' James Harden,­ is also against the All-Star Game.

"There's so much going on as far as we're trying to calm the virus down - and we're putting on an event, you know?" Harden said.

"I know what the reasoning is for, but I feel like, especially with a condensed schedule, it feels like everything was forced upon players. It's already draining to be playing a lot of games in a week. I feel like that was a week for us to kind of relax, be with our families and kind of take a step back away from basketball."

Even the newcomers to the event are not sure about whether going ahead is the right move.

Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox, a first-time All-Star this season, voiced his opposition.

"If I'm going to be brutally honest, I think it's stupid," Fox said last month.

"If we have to wear a mask and all this for a regular game, then what's the point of bringing the All-Star Game back? But, obviously, money makes the world go round, so it is what it is."

With billions of dollars worth of athletes descending on Atlanta, there is n0 question that the NBA will leave anything to chance and anti-virus protocols will be at their utmost.

"I will say this: If they do have that All-Star Game, whether you agree with it or not, the league is going to make sure it's done in a very responsible and safe manner, and that's been proven time and time again," Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone said.

That was echoed by Chicago Bulls player Zach LaVine, who follows Fox into the first All-Star selection.

"I think the NBA knows what they're doing," he said. "I don't think they would do the game if it wasn't safe for the players or the fans. So I'm always up for that."

Still, a rest might have been nice said Nikola Jokic.

"I was All-Star last two years ... I'm in shape," he said when asked if he would prefer another All-Star Game or midseason break.

"The rest, break, of course, 'Where to sign right now?'

"But being an All-Star, it's an honor, you represent a lot of people, back home, Serbia, Sombor, my family. It's honor to be there."

The world will be watching at the weekend and chances are the controversy will be forgotten once the biggest players in the game get on the court.