Over the past few years, the All-Star Game has failed to live up to its reputation as one of the most entertaining aspects of the NBA season. Veteran players have consequently received plenty of criticism, which has led to former NBA champion Kevin Durant throwing some shade at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. However, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has taken exception to what the Houston Rockets star had to say.
The All-Star Game has become a joke over recent years. The exhibition was never meant to be a high-stakes game similar to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. But it allowed fans to see the best players in the league play with and against each other on the biggest stage. Over the years, many players have taken advantage of that chance, leading to some iconic All-Star Game moments.
Unfortunately, that is a thing of the past. These days, there’s very little to no defense played. Plenty of players don’t even seem engaged and interested in the event as a whole. The NBA has sought different variations apart from the iconic East vs. West format. We have also witnessed a Team Captain format along with a round robin tournament. However, none of this has been able to lead to success.
This season, Commissioner Adam Silver has taken a page out of the NHL’s widely successful Four Nations Face Off and is introducing a Team USA vs World format. Historically, players tend to play with more pride when their nations are on the line. The idea is that this will get the Americans to play with more intensity, which Durant has argued is pointless, since in his opinion, the international players as some of the main culprits.
“You should ask the world team,” Durant said to the media. “Luke and Jokic, they don’t care about the game at all.”
“You should ask the World team… Luka and Jokić, they don’t care about the game at all”
KD on of his “old head” team will play hard at the All-Star Game
(via @mshap2, @chron) pic.twitter.com/HXe5cWr1K4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 12, 2026
Durant certainly isn’t lying; Jokic has been on record showing little to no emotion for the star-studded exhibition game. Nonetheless, Stephen A. Smith doesn’t see it that way.
“Folks didn’t call out the old heads,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “They called out everybody. They called out All-Star Weekend.”
“Folks didn’t call out the old heads. They called out everybody. They called out All-Star Weekend.”@stephenasmith shares his thoughts on Kevin Durant’s comments about All-Star Weekend pic.twitter.com/sgfKpGXHHH
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 12, 2026
Smith believes Durant’s comments deflect and push accountability away from players such as himself. The truth is, everyone is at fault, not just Jokic and Doncic. The entire conglomerate of the All-Stars has failed to compete at even a slightly adequate level for the past three years.
“We’re just saying, ‘Damn, show just a little bit of effort.’ We see highlights of y’all working out, and we see y’all going harder than what we see at All-Star Weekend,” Smith proclaimed.
Smith’s anger is certainly warranted. Hopefully, this is the year that the game changes for the better. If not, then there will have to be some serious conversations about what’s next.
At this point, the NBA has seemingly exhausted all of their options. Now it falls onto the players to make the decision to turn the All-Star Game around.
The post “Flagrant Lack of Effort”: Stephen A. Smith Discusses Kevin Durant’s Comments, Sheds Light on All-Star Game’s Shortcoming appeared first on The SportsRush.
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