Kevin Durant is fed up with the criticism.
Hours after he and his Shaq’s OGs teammates won the 2025 NBA All-Star Game mini-tournament under a revised format, Durant responded on social media to widespread criticism of the NBA, suggesting that the game be canceled if fans aren’t appreciating it.
‘I think it’s more fun to complain about the nba than to actually watch it,’ Durant wrote Monday afternoon. ‘Crazy, cancel all star weekend and let’s just give everybody a break since we’re so miserable around this time…’
The NBA has experimented with varying formats to increase competitiveness in the All-Star Game, an issue that has also afflicted other sports leagues, including the NFL’s Pro Bowl. This year, the NBA divided the 24 selected All-Stars into three teams of eight players. TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith each drafted their teams. The fourth team was the winning squad from the Rising Stars event Friday night.
Those four teams faced off in a mini-tournament, with the winner of the final being declared the winning team of the All-Star Game.
Durant, for his part, also was not a fan of the revised format when it was announced.
‘I hate it,’ Durant said Dec. 17 when asked about the new format. ‘I absolutely hate it, that’s terrible. All-Star Game formats changing, all the formats, it’s terrible in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West and play a game.
‘I think we’ve been trying to bring that flair back somehow with All-Star weekend, but I think we (should) just keep it traditional. But we’ll see how this one works, you never know, I might be wrong. I’m just another guy with another opinion.’
The format did amplify some competitiveness Sunday night, when compared to years previous, but it remained nonetheless an imperfect system; multiple breaks slowed play and the action, at times, was sloppy.
‘I try to read it all, frankly, and we try to absorb it at the league office,’ NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday during a news conference. ‘I think the state of the game is excellent. I think it’s the media’s role, the fans’ role, it’s perfectly appropriate to be critical of the game, and I find it very helpful. I’m not one of those people who said I don’t read criticism.’
Durant, one of the NBA’s premier stars, has not shied away from addressing critics on social media over the years. He was a member of Shaq’s OGs, a team composed of seasoned veterans with multiple All-Stars to their résumés. Durant scored four points across both games on two-of-nine shooting.
Several fans responded to Durant’s initial social media post suggesting canceling the All-Star Game, including one who said Durant should watch a replay of the broadcast that included all the commercials and stoppages.
‘I get it,’ Durant responded. ‘My point is, fans complain about EVERYTHING. Like nothing is good enough for the fans right now. Only thing they enjoy is playoffs, trade deadline, free agency and when players beef with each other lol.’