puis dans la liste qui s’affiche, cliquez sur AdBlock
Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
Having failed to achieve popular success with the format adopted this year, the NBA is preparing to modify the All-Star Game once again, pitting the Americans against the rest of the world. A project that has got Kevin Durant talking.
As the price of broadcasting rights continues to soar, the NBA has a duty to provide the media with as impeccable a product as possible. This applies not only to the running of its season, but also to the ancillary events that go with it. Its leaders are therefore trying to recreate the excitement of yesteryear around the traditional All-Star Game… without much success so far. However, they have not said their last word.
Kevin Durant moderates (again) regarding the All-Star Game
In a recent appearance on American television, Adam Silver revealed that the 2026 All-Star Game will almost certainly pit the USA against the rest of the world. This is not only because of basketball’s international expansion, but also to boost ratings. And for renowned ESPN journalist Stephen A. Smith, this looks like a last-ditch attempt to save this match. He explains on X:
Stephen A. Smith: If it doesn’t work, I think you’re going to see the NBA put an end to All-Star Weekend. And that generation of players will be tainted for the rest of their lives because All-Star Weekend will have been banished because of a lack of effort on their part.
It is true that this reform appears to be a kind of last resort for the league. As a result, Smith has no hesitation in calling the players to account. According to him, the loss of interest in this match is entirely their fault. A radical statement that Kevin Durant, always very present on social networks, finally came across and reacted to with a simple word:
Kevin Durant: Dramatic
As you may have gathered, KD feels that Stephen A. is overdoing it, as do other alarmist Internet users according to him:
@TheJamBaby23: Is it really? Yes, but when you see audiences dropping, people stopping watching the event and salaries being affected, I don’t know if that’s the right term to use.
Kevin Durant: I think I saw that a guy was about to sign a contract with an annual salary of $70 million, a record. How are salaries affected?
The Slim Reaper’s stance is hardly surprising, since he already sounded a similar note on X last February:
Kevin Durant: I think it’s become more fun to complain about the NBA than to watch it for some people, it’s crazy. Let’s cancel All-Star Weekend and give everybody a break since we’re so miserable this time of year.
