SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said the discourse around the state of the NBA should extend beyond the new polarizing All-Star Game format.
“It’s not just the All-Star Game. It’s our game in general,” James said at shootaround in Sacramento on Thursday. “… There’s a lot of f—ing 3s being shot. So it’s a bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game.”
James acknowledged that “something had to change” with the All-Star Game given the fan and media reaction to it in recent seasons.
“I mean, it’s different in a sense,” James said of the new tournament format. “But, I don’t know, I don’t really have a … We’ll see, we’ll see when we get there. It’s different. Obviously, anytime you make some type of change it’s gonna be some buck back. I don’t know. I mean, I have my ideas of what could possibly work.”
When asked how he’d improve the exhibition game, James declined to share.
“Yeah, I’m not going to do that,” James said.
He also abstained from divulging how he’d address the recent uptick in 3-point shooting over the past decade.
“I can’t do that today, not in Sacramento,” James said. “Sacramento, I love you guys, but you can’t get this conversation today. It’s just a bigger conversation.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke Tuesday in Las Vegas ahead of the NBA Cup championship on analytics and the recent increase in 3-point volume.
“It’s not unique to the NBA, where analytics start to be too controlling and create situations where players are doing seemingly unnatural things because they’re being directed to do something that is a more efficient shot,” Silver said. “And part of what we’re focusing on, too, is that what makes these players so incredible is the joy they bring to playing the game and the freestyle notion of the game too.
“I do think we should take seriously this notion of more diversity in offense. And I watch as many games as all of you do, and you know to the extent that it’s not so much a 3-point issue, but that some of the audience, some of the offenses, start to look sort of cookie cutter, and teams are copying each other. I think that’s something we should pay attention to.”
James clarified the league did not consult him on the new setup.
“No, I did not,” James said. “I was not part of the committee.”
The new All-Star format, which features a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament, including three teams of eight All-Stars and one team of the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players, has been controversial. Several NBA stars, including Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, criticized it this week.
“I don’t really like it,” Davis said Wednesday. But we’ll see how it goes this year and we’ll see if they change that or not. … If anything, go back to East-West. But four teams, and multiple games and all that stuff … I don’t think a lot of players are gonna like that, personally. But we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes.”
“I hate it, I absolutely hate it,” Durant said Tuesday. “Terrible. All-Star Game format changing, all the formats — terrible in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West. Just play a game. I think we’ve been trying to bring that flare back somehow with All-Star Weekend, I think we just keep the tradition. We’ll see how this one works. You never know, I might be wrong, I’m just another guy with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works.”
“It’s change, it’s different,” Booker said Wednesday. “I’m more into the nostalgia. I agree with Kev. I like East versus West with your own team jersey. I like the old jerseys. It’s whatever.”
When relayed the criticisms of his peers, James refrained from agreeing.
“Everyone has their own opinion,” James said.
James (57,437 all-time regular-season minutes) spoke with reporters Thursday because he is 10 minutes away from passing NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446 all-time regular season minutes) for the most minutes played in the regular season in NBA history.
James (69,296 all-time minutes) already passed Abdul-Jabbar (66,297 all-time minutes) for the most minutes all-time between the regular season and playoffs combined on Nov. 27, 2023, in Philadelphia.
“I just think it’s just a commitment to the craft and to the passion and love I have for the game,” James said of the milestone. “I don’t take much time in the off-season. A little bit more time now, I didn’t take much time in the offseason, no matter if I was making the 10 finals appearances back to back and just always trying to keep my body in tip-top shape.
“And I’ve been able to, like I said, play a lot of minutes and for the most part of my career be injury-free and be available. I don’t want to say injury-free. We all have our injuries in this league and in this sport. But to be available for the majority to my teammates, to the franchises, the three franchises I play for, is something I took very seriously.”
James is coming off a stretch where he missed two games over nine days, rehabbing and training away from the team. When he returned last Sunday, he appeared more spry and touted the benefits of his break postgame.
Moving forward, James said he’s open to resting in the future if it’s part of a stretch of schedule that makes sense.
“I’m just not a guy that likes to sit games, if I’m somewhat healthy,” James said. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just, it’s never been my thing. … If there’s an opportunity where it could benefit my body and benefit my play long-term for the better of the team, then I’m always open to having that conversation. So we’ll see what happens.”
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)