Stephen A. Smith Holds NBA Players Responsible for All-Star Game Debacle

The NBA All-Star Game has long been known for its spectacle, but this year’s edition took that reputation to a whole new level. Was it a disaster? Absolutely. An irredeemable mess? That’s how Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder saw it.

But who deserves the blame for this debacle? According to Stephen A. Smith, despite what Draymond Green might argue , the responsibility lies with the players. On Monday’s edition of First Take, he called out their lack of effort and nearly took aim at the new format itself. In his unfiltered critique, Smith argued that the changes were both necessary and a disgrace to the players, suggesting that the league had to implement extreme measures to elicit any effort from them.

“It was a damn shame that the league had to implement those things in order to get it to that point,” he stated. His criticism focused not only on the changes but also on what they represented: despite the success of the new format, the players’ glaring lack of respect and effort remained an underlying issue. The All-Star Game should be one of the highlights of the season, yet it felt increasingly like a sideshow.

“All-Stars need to be a part of All-Star Sunday, and the fact that you had to add somebody else is egregious,” Smith continued. “It’s not the fault of the league… It’s the fault of the players. Had the selected All-Stars shown up and treated the event with the respect it deserves, there would have been no need for a format change. Even though it worked this time, it highlights the indictment against the effort they’ve shown in previous years.”

“That is the egregious part of all of this — that it was necessary. We find ourselves here on a Monday after All-Star Weekend applauding additional effort, a type of effort typically seen during summer workouts. All anybody ever asked for was that level of commitment. And it’s a damn shame it took rookie All-Stars invading a Sunday evening event to bring what we should’ve been seeing for years.”

“If it was entertaining and it worked, why didn’t Smith celebrate that fact on First Take?” he noted. “We’re not celebrating it because the individuals who made this happen weren’t even All-Stars. You expect to see the All-Stars, but it took non-All-Stars—newcomers—to get on the court and bring the effort that should have been there for years.”

“This isn’t an indictment against the league; it’s an indictment of the perennial All-Stars whom everyone looks forward to seeing—who the fans, media, and coaches all voted for. It’s a reflection of how little effort they’ve put forth during All-Star Weekend in recent years.” With no beating around the bush, Smith made it clear that the conversation was solely about the players, rather than the NBA itself.

The All-Star Game is meant to be about more than just flashy performances or new formats; it’s about players showing up with the effort and respect the media and fans believe it deserves. When it takes rookies to instigate that kind of energy, the league faces a serious issue. As long as the game demands extreme measures to provoke the best from its stars, the NBA will continue to fall short of expectations, leaving fans feeling shortchanged. At its essence, Smith’s argument underscores a need for All-Stars to embody their status; anything less simply isn’t acceptable.