The NBA All-Star Weekend faced heavy criticism from players, fans, and media in the days following the event. Complaints centered around the new format, frequent stoppages, musical performances, and more. Viewership also declined, with the NBA All-Star Game averaging 4.72 million viewers across TNT, TBS, and truTV—a 13% drop from last year’s 5.398 million.
On the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis podcast, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and co-host Baron Davis were joined by NBA superstar Kevin Durant. Green, a key figure in TNT Sports’ coverage of All-Star Weekend, was outspoken in his criticism of All-Star weekend, rating the new format a zero out of ten and arguing that the game “wasn’t real basketball.”
While discussing the event with Durant, Green suggested that “fans and media have as much impact on the state of the game today as anybody.” Durant responded by saying media and fans are the “underrated part” sharing his thoughts on how fans react differently when things are going well versus when they aren’t.
“It’s kind of taboo to talk about the fans or criticize them,” Durant explained.
A highly engaged athlete on social media, Durant often challenges narratives and interacts with both fans and media. He expressed frustration with the way some fans claim credit for the NBA’s success yet distance themselves when issues arise.
“We pay our hard-earned money and we basically fund your whole operation, so y’all can’t say s*t about us,” said Durant about how some fans on social media take credit for the NBA’s success. “You know what? Y’all have a huge impact on what we do, right? So how can y’all not be a factor to our s**t when it’s going bad? When s**t going bad, it’s all on the people inside the league. But when s**t going well, the fans want to take credit for how much they come to the games. How much they watch all this s**t. But when it’s going bad, it’s like, ‘I’m out of it as a fan base, it’s the players and the league itself.’ Nah, you’re not going to get away with that.”
Durant went on to criticize those who complain about the NBA and All-Star Weekend without offering solutions. He urged them to contribute ideas for improvement rather than just finding faults.
“If you don’t have a solution, just sit back and enjoy the game because you’re taking these amazing athletes for granted,” Durant said. “There are too many threes. The game starts too late. There are too many commercials. Players switch teams too much. No more rivalries. No more fights. Damn, what do you want? I’m getting sick of it.”
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