LeBron James has a big problem with the NBA‘s plan for an All-Star game this season. It’s been reported by ESPN the NBA and NBA Player’s Association are expected to finalize a deal where the All-Star game will be played in Atlanta on March 7. James said it makes no sense for the league to have the event due to the quick turnaround from last season.
“Coming into this season, we were told that we were not having an All-Star Game, so we’d have a nice little break,” James said to reporters this week via ESPN. “Five days [in March] from the 5th through the 10th, an opportunity for me to kind of recalibrate for the second half of the season. My teammates as well. Some of the guys in the league. James went on to say, “And then they throw an All-Star Game on us like this and just breaks that all the way up. So, um, pretty much kind of a slap in the face.”
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James is no stranger to the All-Star game, playing in 16 of them in his previous 17 seasons. However, he is not pumped about the talk of the game being played this year. “I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” James stated. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, All-Star Weekend will just be one single night (March 7) and it will include the game as well as the skills competitions. It will be held at State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks. And while All-Star Weekend will be just one night, NBA players will be off for the entire week (Mar. 5-10). James would rather have that time to rest and relax but also feels it makes no sense to play an exhibition game during a pandemic.
“We’re still dealing with everything that’s been going on, and we’re going to bring the whole league into one city that’s open?” James asked. “Obviously, the pandemic has absolutely nothing to do with it at this point when it comes to that weekend. Obviously, you guys can see that I’m not very happy about it.” That being said, James did say he would report to the game if he was voted in. As of Friday, the four-time NBA champion is leading the Western Conference in All-Star votes with 2,888,676.
