NBA Commissioner Adam Silver candidly assessed the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, calling the event a “miss” during a press conference held Thursday. The game, which took place last month in San Francisco, marked the league’s latest attempt to revamp the All-Star format—but according to Silver, it still fell short of expectations.
“I thought we made an almost immeasurable amount of progress… sitting there I thought this was a little better but it was a miss,” Silver said. “We’re not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of and our players can be proud of.”
“It was a miss. We’re not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience to at we can be proud of and our players can be proud of.”
Adam Silver calls the 2025 NBA All-Star Game a ‘miss’
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 27, 2025
Over the past several years, the NBA has experimented with numerous changes to reinvigorate the All-Star Game, ranging from team captains to a target score format and a return to the traditional East vs. West setup. The 2025 edition introduced a new tournament-style structure, dividing All-Stars into three teams and adding a fourth squad — the winners of the Rising Stars Challenge.
The format featured three games: two semifinals and a championship match. Shaquille O’Neal’s “OGs” defeated Charles Barkley’s “Global Stars” 41-25 in the final, with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry earning All-Star Game MVP honors.
Adam Silver acknowledges All-Star Game struggles amid ratings drop and star absences
While the altered format introduced fresh elements, the product on the court continued to face criticism. Fans and analysts noted a lack of intensity and defensive effort, a recurring concern in recent years. The inclusion of the Rising Stars team also drew negative reactions, with some fans questioning the decision to pit them against established veterans.
Viewership reflected the lukewarm reception. According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, the 2025 All-Star Game saw a 13 percent drop in viewership compared to the previous year, falling from 5.398 million viewers in 2024 to 4.718 million across TNT, TBS, and TruTV. The 2025 contest ranked as the second-least watched All-Star Game on record, just ahead of the 2023 edition.
Contributing to the decline in engagement was the absence of several marquee players. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James missed the game while managing a lingering ankle issue, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined with a calf strain. Lakers guard Luka Doncic, who had been dealing with a calf strain in the weeks leading up to the event, was not selected to the All-Star roster.
Despite the disappointing television numbers, the NBA pointed to growth across digital platforms. Glasspiegel noted that an NBA spokesperson reported a 12 percent increase in digital engagement compared to 2024. “Across all social media accounts and platforms, NBA All-Star content generated a record 4.7 billion views,” according to data provided by Videocites.
With Silver publicly acknowledging the shortcomings of the 2025 format, further changes are expected ahead of the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which is set to be hosted at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
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