Kevin Durant Fires Back at All-Star Criticism as USA vs. World Format Debuts

Kevin Durant is heading into one other NBA All-Star look, however the Houston Rockets famous person is already pushing again towards questions on effort, competitiveness, and whether or not veteran gamers will take the revamped showcase severely.

The NBA is introducing a brand new United States vs. World round-robin event format for the midseason occasion, set to happen in Inglewood, California, on the Los Angeles Clippers’ dwelling area.

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Whereas commissioner Adam Silver believes nationwide delight might elevate the depth of the sport, Durant made it clear he believes the scrutiny shouldn’t be targeted solely on Workforce USA’s veteran stars.

“You must ask the Europeans and the World crew in the event that they’re going to compete,” Durant mentioned, in line with ESPN. “Should you take a look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic now, let’s return and take a look at what they do within the All-Star Recreation. Is that competitors? So we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing. However we’re going to query the outdated heads, and the People.

“However these two dudes on the market, Luka and Jokic, they don’t care in regards to the recreation in any respect. These dudes be laying on the ground. They’re taking pictures from half court docket. However you’ve bought to fret in regards to the outdated heads taking part in exhausting? I can learn between the strains, bro. It’s simply an general subject that everyone’s been speaking about.”

The format shift has been mentioned for years because the league searches for methods to revive competitiveness and fan engagement throughout All-Star weekend.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has already promised a high-effort efficiency, telling reporters, “I’ve seen the All-Star Recreation, and clearly it hasn’t been aggressive. And I’ve all the time thought myself that if I used to be in there, I’m by no means stepping onto the court docket to lose or not caring. Similar to at dwelling, I’m by no means stepping right into a board recreation not caring, pondering I’m going to lose. … I’m going to be on the market, I would as nicely win.”