Stars were out in San Francisco last Friday through Sunday as the city hosted the 2025 NBA All-Star weekend. The event boasted a revamped format, a return of the skills competition and the best of the best coming together to play basketball.
The All-Star weekend is a fan-fest full of excitement and fun. But we’re here to analyze whether the festivities met some lofty expectations.
All-Star MVPs
The Dunk Contest: This was a major bright spot in another lackluster All-Star weekend for the NBA. Not only was Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung even more impressive than in years past, but he also had a worthy competitor. San Antonio Spurs rookie guard Stephon Castle also put on a show.
However, the event was over when McClung jumped over a car. As soon as he landed, McClung solidified himself as one of the greatest Slam Dunk participants in history. The G-leaguer achieved a three-peat, winning three consecutive years in the Dunk Contest.
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Following the contest, conversations sparked among NBA stars. Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant started this conversation by calling out the 2016 Slam Dunk finalists. Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine and Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon could return next season. It seems like glory might be restored for the Dunk Contest going forward.
MrBeast: This was quick, in-between game fun. Who doesn’t love seeing a college kid win $100,000? However, doing this before or after the three-point contest would have made more logistical sense. However, Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard was the perfect guy for the job.
All-Star disappointments
$$$: Despite three-peating and reviving the dunk contest, McClung has only taken in $325,000 in total Dunk Contest winnings. For reference, that is almost triple his total NBA earnings. A league minimum contract for a single year is $1,157,153, but McClung has yet to last a full season. In a league with more money given to players than ever, don’t be surprised if they raise the money to secure McClung for a fourth straight year.
The game(s) itself: We can respect the NBA for realizing that the event has not been as entertaining as in previous years. After last year’s bizarre score, the NBA changed the format once again.
A format that resembled more of a pickup-tournament style was a fresh look. The new format made it a little more fun than most expected, but the viewership did not reflect that.
Cameron Tabatabaie, senior writer for the Celtics Wire, shared that only “42 minutes of actual basketball was played during the 3-hour All-Star game.”
Only 23.3% of the grand finale of NBA All-Star weekend saw the game of basketball being played. Some players were also vocal about their thoughts on the new format.
“The format was cool,” said Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. “The first two games were pretty competitive. If they can just find a way to not have the long intermission in between the games or during the games, I think it will be a lot better.”
It is a good format; the NBA just needs to tweak how it broadcasts games.
“The tournament was an excellent format, and TNT and the NBA ruined it,” Tabatabie said.
‘Wake me up when it’s over’
Broken “Hart”: “Time to give the people what they want,” said comedian Kevin Hart as he interrupted Hall-of-Famer sportscaster Ernie Johnson.
This was not what the people wanted. The last thing the NBA All-Star game needed was more distractions from the actual game. Hart spent most of the time interrupting the game for jokes. However, most fell flat, and a few players did not appreciate his roasts.
TNT blows it up: We are all for the TNT crew getting their flowers. Even a send-off after decades of being the home of All-Star weekend was understandable. However, stopping the championship game after 12 points were scored to have Hart gift the “Inside the NBA” crew fishing gear was not what the fans or players wanted.
This easily could have been done after the game. The best thing from this was the camera panning to Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and him mouthing, “Get ’em outta here,” which perfectly encapsulated another disappointing weekend.
