Sometimes, the NBA All-Star Weekend feels like basketball’s version of a big family reunion — everyone’s excited, there’s plenty of star power, and yet, some folks still end up complaining about the food. 

This year, the league brought the festivities to the Bay Area, a place where basketball culture runs deep. The whole idea of All-Star Weekend is to celebrate the best players in the game, give fans a show, and — let’s be honest — provide a midseason break before the real playoff grind begins.

But while the concept is simple (showcase the stars, have some fun, and make it feel special), the execution has been a real challenge lately. The NBA introduced a new format for 2025, essentially turning it into a mini-tournament with four different teams. On paper, that sounds innovative. In practice, it got mixed reactions.

All-Star Saturday: Hits, Misses, and a Lack of Stars

Skills Challenge

The Skills Challenge kicked things off with a bit of flair — and, as it turned out, a bit of controversy. Team Cavs ended up taking the crown, but not without a side dish of drama. Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul were disqualified for trying to take advantage of a loophole in the rules.

If you’ve watched enough All-Star Weekends, you know the Skills Challenge has often been a playground for big men trying to show off their handles or for flashy guards who want to prove they’re more than just scorers. This year, that felt like it was overshadowed by the Spurs' duo getting disqualified. 

3-Point Contest

The three-point contest has become the highlight for a lot of fans — especially in an NBA where shooting from deep has become an art form. This time, Tyler Herro walked away the winner, dethroning Damian Lillard in a final round that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Herro’s smooth stroke was on full display, and you could see his confidence grow with each shot that found the bottom of the net.

This year’s 3-Point Contest didn’t exactly have a standout performance that stole the show. While Herro walked away as the winner, there wasn’t a defining moment that cemented this as a very memorable contest. 

Damian Lillard, the defending champ, fell short, and while Herro’s smooth shooting was impressive, it lacked the kind of electric dominance we’ve seen in past years. With so many elite shooters in the league, you’d think someone would have put on a show. Instead, it felt more like a solid, if unspectacular, competition.

Slam Dunk Contest

Ah, the once-mighty dunk contest. This year, Mac McClung took center stage and soared his way to a third consecutive slam dunk title. Yes, you read that right: a three-peat. The first ever for the dunk contest.

McClung’s performance was impressive — there’s no denying he’s got the creativity, flair, and bounce to dominate this event. But let’s be real: the dunk contest just doesn’t hit the same without household names. McClung has kept it afloat, but the lack of true star power has been holding it back in a big way. 

Year after year, fans hope for a return to the days when the league’s biggest names battled for pride, yet we’re left with rising stars and G-Leaguers carrying the show. Maybe Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo hinting at competing next year is a sign of better days ahead. But until then, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the dunk contest, once the crown jewel of All-Star Saturday night, is just treading water.

Sunday’s Showdown: A Fresh Take or a Failed Experiment?

Sunday rolled around, and with it came the new mini-tournament format — a bold experiment by the league to pump some energy back into a game that's been heavily criticized for its lack of competitiveness.

Format

Here’s the quick rundown: four teams, all competing in a bracket. Three squads were drafted by TNT analysts Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, while the fourth team was composed of the Rising Stars winners.

Semi-Finals

The first matchups featured Chuck’s Global Stars going up against Kenny’s Young Stars, and Shaq’s OGs battling Candace’s Rising Stars. Chuck’s crew, loaded with international talent, went toe-to-toe with Kenny’s younger roster in a game that highlighted just how global the NBA has become. Meanwhile, Shaq’s OGs — which had a mix of wily veterans — showed they still had some pep in their step by dispatching Candace’s Rising Stars. It was a clash of old school meets new school, with fans getting a chance to see some less familiar names go up against established All-Star vets.

Championship

In the final, Shaq’s OGs took on Chuck’s Global Stars in a showdown that ultimately gave Shaq’s team the bragging rights. It might not have been the most intense game you’ve ever seen — then again, All-Star contests rarely are — but there were moments of genuine competitiveness, especially in the closing minutes.

MVP

When the dust settled, Stephen Curry snagged the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP award. Even though it’s become almost routine to see Steph rack up accolades, it’s always special when someone takes home a trophy named after Kobe. Curry’s presence is a huge part of why the event felt so Bay Area-centric this year. From his pre-game warmup routines that have become viral sensations to the effortless way he drains shots from far beyond the arc, he’s a highlight reel waiting to happen. And the fans ate it up.

Is the All-Star Game on the Right Track?

As soon as the final buzzer sounded, the hot takes started rolling in. The All-Star Game has faced criticism for years, with fans and analysts calling it broken or uninteresting. The NBA tried to remedy that with the new format, but not everyone was buying it.

Draymond Green wasn’t shy about voicing his distaste. He felt the mini-tournament setup messed with the flow of the game, and he’s not alone. 

You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40, and then you're done. This is so unfair to Victor Wembanyama, who just took this game very seriously; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just took this game really seriously. When you're talking about chasing after the points record — 'Melo and Kobe, all of these guys who have had great scoring nights. They don't get the opportunity to do that with this game. All so we can watch some Rising Stars.

Long breaks between matchups, extended on-court presentations, and a general sense of start-stop action made it tough for players to find a rhythm. Jayson Tatum echoed that sentiment, saying it was harder than expected to get back into the competitive mindset after stopping the game for so long.

All in all, it was a three-hour production that only had roughly half an hour of basketball being played. That just can't happen moving forward.

Future of the Current Format

If there’s one thing Commissioner Adam Silver has made clear, it’s that you can’t please everyone. Some fans want a return to tradition, while others clamor for more creative changes. And the players themselves are often split on how best to balance entertainment value and competitiveness.

The real question is whether the NBA can tweak the event in a way that encourages players to actually care about the outcome. Cash incentives, special rules, or philanthropic causes tied to the result are all ideas that have been floated. But at the end of the day, if the players decide to treat it like a vacation, no format change can force them to go all out. 

It's going to take a shift in mindset, one that reminds them the All-Star Game is still a chance to showcase the best that their game has to offer in a way that matters.

Experimentation Continues

So how do we sum up this year’s All-Star Weekend in the Bay Area? It had its highlights — Steph Curry going off in front of his adopted hometown crowd, a more global flair in the Sunday matchups, and Mac McClung’s continuing legacy in the Dunk Contest. Yet it also had its fair share of lulls, from star players bowing out to a format that never quite found its groove.

The NBA’s quest to strike the perfect balance between entertainment and competition is still very much a work in progress. Maybe it’s time to go all in on Team USA vs. The World, or revert to East vs. West with a twist, or alter the current format to merge the best of both. 

Whatever happens, expect the league to keep experimenting. That’s been the NBA’s calling card for a while now — always tinkering, always trying to stay ahead of the curve.

As long as we keep talking about it, the NBA will keep finding ways to surprise us. And who knows, maybe next time they’ll finally get it right.