NBA: LeBron slams league's plan to hold all-star game as `slap in the face'

As the NBA finalizes arrangements to stage an all-star game in Atlanta on March 7, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers issued a strong rebuke of the whole concept, calling the idea “a slap in the face” for players who thought the annual midseason showcase would not take place this season.

Speaking after he led the Lakers with a triple-double in a nationally televised victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, James said he had “zero energy and zero excitement” about the idea of flying to Atlanta in the midst of a pandemic for what amounts to an exhibition game.

While James acknowledged that the NBA players’ association consented to the proposal, he said he had been eagerly anticipating the league’s scheduled break from March 5 to 10, given that the Lakers and Miami Heat faced the shortest offseason (72 days) in league history after meeting in last season’s NBA Finals in October.

“I don’t even understand why we’re having an all-star game,” James said.

Earlier in the day, the NBA notified teams that it expects to have “finalized agreements” with the players’ association by next week on holding the game as well as a dunk contest, threepoint contest and skills competition — all on March 7. Those plans were conveyed in a memo issued to the league’s 30 teams, a copy of which was obtained by the New York Times.

A typical all-star weekend includes even more events and can stretch across four days, but next month’s proposed trip would still require participants and various team and league employees to be in Atlanta on March 6 and 7.

The all-star functions are likely to take place at the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena, according to two people familiar with the negotiations but not authorized to discuss them publicly.

Negotiations between the league and the union on a modified proposal have been ongoing for more than two weeks, but the prospect of bringing representatives of numerous teams to interact in one place — given all the coronavirus-related disruptions that the league has faced during the first six weeks of the season — had been criticized as needlessly risky even before James’ blasts.

“If I’m going to be brutally honest, I think it’s stupid,” De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings said Wednesday.

Noting that the NBA has instituted countless health and safety regulations to limit potential coronavirus exposure, including rules aimed at curtailing postgame fraternizing between teams, Fox added: “If we have to wear a mask and all this for a regular game, then what’s the point of bringing the all-star game back? But, obviously, money makes the world go ’round, so it is what it is.”

The league does not have a separate television contract for its all-star festivities, but all-star programming is regarded as the annual jewel of Atlanta-based Turner Sports’ NBA coverage. Having at least one night of all-star events to broadcast would give Turner an opportunity to recoup some prime advertising revenue. Have your say: Should the NBA play an all-star game during a pandemic?