Complaints About Charles Barkley & TNT Crew’s Behavior Surface As Rockets Star Makes Demand To Adam Silver Clear

When WUSC-FM reporter Nathan Ladimir said, “A game from the 90s was a bloodbath. Today it’s a shootout,” after this year’s All-Star game, it hit some nerves. But there couldn’t have been a better way to describe things, given how criticism of this annual event has only grown over the years. To “fix” the All-Star Game, various changes have been implemented, including drafts, gimmicks, shootout contests, comedians, and playing to point totals rather than timed games. And slowly, it has become more of an entertainment. A complete contrast from when a veteran Michael Jordan and a young Kobe Bryant battled things out on the court. Therefore, for modern players, it is the desire to have a better and raw game, and what better time than the offseason to raise the issue?

Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. and New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III touched base on this downgrade during the recent segment of ‘The Young Man and the Three’ podcast. Murphy highlighted the intensity of the past All-Star games by highlighting how, at one time, Kobe Bryant’s nose got broken. The host addressed the rumor that it was Kobe who was making everyone play hard, and things changed once he retired. Smith certainly feels someone like the Black Mamba is needed again, since “people tired, bro”. More than anything else, the concentration should be on the game. One way to ensure this is to cut down on just the ‘distractions’.

“This year, they had way too many breaks. Like, I was there at the game, and I’m like ‘there was way too many breaks’. Like, there was more break time than there was game time,” said Trey Murphy III. The new format of the All-Star game, which saw a four-team, single-elimination tournament, with a target score of 40 points for each round, made things more competitive. However, it was overshadowed by long, momentum-killing intermissions, which involved everything from musical acts and acrobats to a shooting contest hosted by, wait for it, Mr. Beast!

“I’m like what is going on like right now?” Trey put it forward in his no-nonsense avatar, to which Jabari pitched: “Like it’s more of a show. They’re making it more of a show. But the thing is, while they’re doing that, they’re trying to make it like they’re trying to make it more entertaining.” But if Adam Silver’s points are taken, this year’s unique All-Star was an experiment to revive the event. Sadly, that didn’t happen. And Trey’s message, “We come for basketball. I’m not here to see Mr. Beast,” might be the answer.

The host, Tommy Alter, joked and brought up one more instance from the February All-Star. “Bro, they did a break to talk about the NBA on TNT guys to like to talk about them for like….” The highlight of all those breaks was a five-minute ceremony that was held in honor of TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ show. The ‘NBA on TNT’ crew, comprising NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith, along with co-host Ernie Johnson Jr., was honored, but it did raise some questions.

Given that it was the last All-Star game the crew would be covering for TNT, an exception could be made if the players were taking breaks to go talk to them. Nevertheless, the break to pay tribute to the crew was just one thing. Overall, people agree that everything else that unnecessarily extends the duration of the game should be removed.

“We got to play. Like they got to we got to go out there and try to….” said Jabari Smith Jr. It would be hard to convince NBA commissioner Adam Silver if it was only a handful of people voicing against the breaks. Fortunately, Jabari Smith Jr. and Trey Murphy III’s opinion is backed by other bunch of other stars too.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Brown highlighted displeasure over long breaks: “weren’t ideal”

According to an analysis by an X user, Tonight, the congratulations distracted from the game itself. The three-hour broadcast of the All-Star game featured only 42 minutes of actual basketball played. Less than 25 percent. The intention of everything from the ‘NBA on TNT’ tribute to the musical performances was to keep the audience engaged. Unfortunately, it couldn’t do the same for the players.

Jaylen Brown was captured saying, “get them out of here” during the tribute ceremony, while Kyrie Irving was reportedly seen running sprints to stay warm. After the event got over, Brown went on to say that “I would say it’s not ideal to stop like that if you want guys to be physical. I think guys were still out there having fun. All the OGs, team old knees and old backs, we came out on top, so I don’t think anyone else should have had any excuses. It’s definitely not ideal.”

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept it brief by saying, “The breaks, I guess, weren’t ideal”. With so much time already spent on breaks, Shai couldn’t have said anything more to reflect what the majority of fans would have also felt. This opinion was also backed by Trae Young, who said, “I didn’t like it at all, to be honest with you. I don’t know what the fan reaction is yet. But I think too many breaks. Guys are over there ready to play. I thought it was very competitive in the beginning. But as the games kept going on, I think it was too long of breaks … It was too long of a break. It felt like it was 30 minutes.”

According to reports, Adam Silver is planning to set a USA vs. World Format for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. With any luck, this one cuts down on the breaks a bit. Not only by a bit, but by a lot!