Regretful Kevin Durant makes opinion clear on calling All-Star Game format "terrible"
Kevin Durant caught some headlines this week after giving his take on the NBA trying to tweak things up again with the All-Star Game. The All-Star Game has drawn some harsh criticism over an apparent lack of competitiveness and defense, and as a result, the league decided to make a new format change.
This time, teams will compete in a mini-tournament to determine the winner, in a proposal reportedly made by Steph Curry. His former teammate, Kevin Durant, however, doesn't like it one bit:
“I hate it. I absolutely hate it. Terrible,” Durant said on Tuesday (via ESPN). “The All-Star Game format is changing and the other formats — all of it is terrible, in my opinion.
"We should just go back to East vs. West and just play a game. I think we’ve been trying to bring that flair back with All-Star Weekend but I think we should just keep it traditional. You never know; I might be wrong. I’m just another guy with another opinion,” he continued. “We’ll see how that works.”
It didn't take long before Durant's comments went viral. That's why he has now acknowledged that maybe he should've taken a different approach instead of going against the league's initiative:
“I probably should've said something else, to be honest,” Durant said on 'The Up & Adams Show.' “I can't be going up against the league like that, but that was my opinion.”
Charles Barkley agrees with Kevin Durant on All-Star Game format
Kevin Durant isn't the only one to show concerns about this new format or the All-Star Game as a whole. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley also agrees that the league needs to find a solution, as fans don't seem to be enjoying the product right now:
“We’re going to have to do something. Ratings are down, down, down. Like I said, the fans are the most important aspect of the game. We need the fans to be successful. We got a new model this year,” Barkley told Dan Patrick on Thursday. “I want to do anything to help the game, Dan. I saw Kevin Durant ripped the new format.”
Barkley then proposed that the league makes the All-Star Game a "USA vs. the World" matchup, just like they do with the Rising Stars Game:
“I don’t know how this thing is going to turn out this year. But listen, let’s be honest. What we’ve done the last few years is not working, plain and simple,” Barkley added. “I’ve always suggested we do the United States against the world. I think that would be fantastic.“
At the end of the day, it will all depend on the players. The fans want to see them playing hard and competing against one another regardless of the format, just like it used to be in the past.