The 2025 NBA All-Star Game was a disappointment, and that has become the norm in recent years. While the 2025 event was marred by presentation issues and frequent stoppages, the revamped format was the result of poor effort by the players in 2024 and the previous few seasons. After yet another underwhelming showcase, fans and critics alike are wondering how exactly one of the league’s marquee regular-season events fell so far.
Former NBA center Brendan Haywood has a theory. On an appearance on Triple Threat with Ashley Nicole Moss on CBS Sports Network, he argued that the decline started in 2017, the year after Kobe Bryant retired.