The addition of fan favorites, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith would ideally lead to applause, right? Well, that’s what Adam Silver, had in mind when he introduced the new All-Star format. However, the reality has been quite different. Criticism from current players like Kevin Durant and LeBron James paints a different picture. Even former players don’t seem to be a fan of the changed format. “All-star game is a joke right now,” said a former 3x NBA Champion on his podcast, and the scathing comments didn’t end there.

“Kid J, I wish KB was here today because he hit it on the head, you know, when he played an all-star games. Get back to East versus West, number one. Get back to competing against your peers.” Byron Scott remembered Kobe Bryant and his Mamba Mentality approach any time he stepped foot on the hardwood. And he wants the current players to follow that process when they play in the All-Star games.

“These are the best players in the world. And the people who are watching and want to see you go hard at each other…” So, it’s clear that the former Showtime Era champion with the Lakers is not a fan of the new format. For the changed format, there are 4 teams involved, where Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith will pick their respective teams live on TNT in the NBA All-Star Draft. They will also be the honorary GMs of the team. Meanwhile, Candace Parker serves as honorary GM of the Rising Stars champion.

But Byron Scott is not a fan of it. “If I’m commissioner, I’m saying, you know what? Scrap all this crap. We’re going back to East against West, you know, and we want you guys to play. We want you to compete. You play harder at UCLA in the summer than you play an all-star game.” The former player-turned-coach spoke on his podcast, FastBreak. Where he also emphasized the importance of ‘Black Mamba’ in previous encounters.

Can Shaquille O’Neal and Co. revive the ratings?

Former players like Gilbert Arenas called it “disrespectful.” Another former champion, Kevin Garnett who played in 15 All-Star games doesn’t find it “entertaining” enough. The ratings too paint a similar picture. In comparison to the 2003 game, the viewership of the last year’s game decreased by close to 50%. That’s why Byron Scott is not a fan of the changes in the format. Even though it is led by Shaquille O’Neal and the Inside crew.

“Kobe Bean Bryant was the only one out of this generation that would playing the All-Star Game and go after you. yeah after D-wade, after LeBron, you know after MJ. He was the only one that was like ‘I’m gonna play hard cuz I want to see what you can do.‘” He continued, “In some way we have to get that mentality back and I think all these gimmicks is not helping at all.” Although he lauded, Commissioner Silver’s efforts to bring in the change.

With Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal at the helm, they can be critical of their players. But will it bring a change in their mentality as Scott suggested? Or will their performances continue to be the same?

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