4x NBA Champ Aligns With Charles Barkley Regardless of Being Slammed for ‘Messing Up’ All-Star Recreation

The NBA All-Star Recreation was as soon as a battle of the perfect for bragging rights, however now? The sport has misplaced its edge, drowned in gimmicks and half-hearted effort, and even these accountable aren’t denying it. With rankings plummeting and followers tuning out, the league faces a brutal actuality—repair it quick or watch the All-Star Recreation fade into irrelevance.

So, how would you fee the brand new NBA All-Star format? When you ask the identical query to a sure 4x All-Star, he’d fee it a strong zero. Why? In his phrases, “Now we get the deal with of watching the Olympic crew vs a U19 crew.” It’s laborious to argue with that. The All-Star Recreation was as soon as a battle of the league’s greatest, however someplace alongside the way in which, it misplaced its spark.

So who is that this All-Star? That may be Draymond Inexperienced who desires it to return to fundamentals. However Charles Barkley isn’t letting him off the hook that simply. “I’m going to disagree with Draymond A LOT,” Chuck stated. “They messed the sport up! His technology messed the sport up! We’re doing each kind of trick to make this weekend thrilling.”

Surprisingly, Inexperienced isn’t too bothered by the criticism. In actual fact, he agrees. “I feel doing each kind of trick is the issue, which is my level, that we’re doing each trick,” he defined. To him, basketball ought to be easy. “That is a couple of basketball sport and a basketball sport is just what? A basketball sport.”

So, what’s his repair? Green believes the problem lies in the lack of real gameplay. “As a result of we performed 32 minutes of basketball on a three-hour telecast. Nevertheless it was purported to be a basketball sport.” His resolution? “Let’s make this East versus West and possibly make that imply one thing.”

Nevertheless, one other concept is floating round—flip it right into a USA vs. World matchup. That may increase the stakes, proper? Chuck himself desires it. “I’ve stated it for 5 to seven to 10 years. Worldwide in opposition to the US, let’s strive it,” he stated on The Steam Room.

However with rankings tanking, the NBA is working out of choices. And Barkley? He couldn’t resist a sarcastic jab on the total mess.

Charles Barkley slams All-Star score with sarcastic tone

It’s no secret the NBA’s revamped All-Star format was purported to convey again the joy. However as a substitute, it flopped—once more. Followers had been left upset, and rankings took one other hit. Unsurprisingly, Charles Barkley didn’t maintain again, taking a sarcastic jab on the entire mess.

“Complaining in regards to the All-Star format does nothing good for our product. You understand the advantage of, I’m not going to lie, we don’t should televise that factor anymore,” Barkley stated. And the numbers again him up.

In accordance with media analyst Ryan Glasspiegel, this yr’s All-Star Recreation drew simply 4.7 million viewers throughout TNT platforms. That’s a 13% drop from final yr, making it the second-least-watched All-Star Recreation ever, barely beating 2023’s embarrassing 4.6 million viewership.

If that’s not alarming sufficient, right here’s the true kicker—the final three All-Star Video games couldn’t even crack six million viewers. That had by no means occurred in NBA historical past earlier than 2023. So, what’s the issue? Barkley’s bought a solution.

“I’m not even upset as a result of if y’all [the league superstars] don’t take it severe, why ought to the community and the followers take it severe?” he stated. “Y’all complaining in regards to the format, y’all are the explanation the format’s unhealthy.”

Now, the ball’s within the NBA’s courtroom. Will they repair it, or will the slide proceed? Solely time will inform.