Criticizing the NBA All-Star game has become a sport in itself, and TNT’s Draymond Green elevated that over the weekend by openly condemning the event during the broadcast. When anchor Adam Lefkoe asked Green to grade the new mini-tournament format on a scale of one to ten, Green bluntly rated it a zero, lambasting the inclusion of the Rising Stars and the target score, stating it wasn’t real basketball.
Green’s remarks sparked a news cycle around another lackluster NBA All-Star weekend but also provoked pushback from notable voices in sports media. On a recent episode of his What’s Wright podcast, FS1 host Nick Wright agreed that the game was subpar but contended that Green was the least fitting spokesperson that night—potentially due to jealousy. “He’s right that the Rising Stars shouldn’t be playing Sunday night. I actually think that is correct,” noted Wright. “However, as often happens with Draymond, while he may be accurate, his delivery is so poor that the message gets lost. During the pregame show, my heart went out to my dear friend Adam Lefkoe, who posed the ‘1 to 10’ question only for Draymond to respond with ‘a zero, this sucks.’ Your role there is to generate excitement for the event.”
The negativity was striking on TNT’s broadcast of the game, but Green wasn’t the only one dishing it out. The Inside the NBA crew made their usual sideline jokes, while guest emcee Kevin Hart playfully mocked players during the game. Nonetheless, for Green to take the opportunity of a major platform connected to the NBA to lambast the league, that was a step too far for Wright, who speculated whether Green’s negativity stemmed from his own jealousy. “That’s just rude and unprofessional,” Wright commented. “He is not the arbiter or czar of All-Star history; he just isn’t. I found it really, to use a nerdy word, uncouth. Steph and Durant are participating and taking it seriously, and for you to say, ‘it sucks, it’s not basketball’—would he feel that way if he had been selected?”
Green made three consecutive All-Star teams from 2015-2018 but has since declined as he has entered his mid-30s. Since the Warriors’ last championship in 2022, he has made more headlines for off-court issues and his appearances on TNT and his podcast.
It’s hard to believe that Green was so overwhelmed by jealousy or FOMO that he misrepresented the broadcast while secretly enjoying it behind the scenes. Yet, Wright is correct in asserting that Green, as an NBA ambassador on TNT, should aim to be at least reasonable. Fans choosing to watch the game don’t need a downer. The final intriguing aspect of this brewing feud is Wright’s criticism of a fellow Klutch client in Draymond Green. For years, NBA fans have accused Wright of defending LeBron James due to their shared agency, but now we see a Klutch-on-Klutch conflict as Wright takes aim at the Warriors legend, who will soon become a media colleague.
