Former NBA player Allan Houston talked to a class Friday, taught by legendary columnist Will Rhoden at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The two time all-star and current NBA executive had a lot of great insights on the landscape of the NBA as a current G League GM for the Knicks, as well as his past as a player for the same team.
At first, the talk focused on Houston’s insights as a player. But when asked about the current state of the NBA, that’s where the conversation got really interesting.
As someone who participated in the NBA all-star game multiple times in his career, Houston was excited and ready to play each time he stepped on the court for that game.
“It was a badge of honor (to play in the all-star game),” Houston said.
But it seems today that it isn’t a ‘badge of honor’ anymore. It just feels quite evident that in today’s NBA landscape that players just do not care about the NBA all-star game anymore.
The lack of defense being played, the players’ lack of passion and the current drop in ratings are directly correlated to each other. The 2025 all-star weekend was direct evidence of this, with TV ratings dropping nearly 13% from the previous year.
The Four Nations Faceoff that was played in lieu of the regularly formatted all-star game for the NHL nearly doubled the amount of American viewers that the NBA had for their weekend.
The current format for the NBA made it feel more like an amateur game than a game that is supposed to be a marketing tool for the NBA by putting the best of the best against each other. Instead, the NBA allowed the unquestioned greatest player of the 21st century in LeBron James to announce that he was not playing just hours before tip-off due to what can only be seen as ‘load management’.
This was the first all-star game that the all-time great missed in his 22 year career with 21 nods to the game. To have the current face of the NBA not play in the all-star game due to what was labeled as ‘discomfort’ is just disgraceful. Not only did we as fans miss what could very well be James’ last all-star game, but there was no time to name a replacement, meaning someone that was previously snubbed was unnecessarily left out.
There used to be a huge pride to play in the all-star game, no matter if it was your first time getting the nod, or 15th time. Houston expressed this but implied that there is no immediate fix to this.
“It is the heart and desire of the player to compete,” Houston said.
If the players have no heart and no desire to compete in a game that is supposed to be an honor every time, than the future of the NBA all-star game, and therefore the league as a whole, might be going down the drain.
Allan Houston Press Conference and the State of the All-Star Game
Former NBA player Allan Houston talked to a class Friday, taught by legendary columnist Will Rhoden at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The two time all-star and current NBA executive had a lot of great insights on the landscape of the NBA as a current G League GM for the Knicks, as well as his past as a player for the same team.
At first, the talk focused on Houston’s insights as a player. But when asked about the current state of the NBA, that’s where the conversation got really interesting.
As someone who participated in the NBA all-star game multiple times in his career, Houston was excited and ready to play each time he stepped on the court for that game.
“It was a badge of honor (to play in the all-star game),” Houston said.
But it seems today that it isn’t a ‘badge of honor’ anymore. It just feels quite evident that in today’s NBA landscape that players just do not care about the NBA all-star game anymore.
The lack of defense being played, the players’ lack of passion and the current drop in ratings are directly correlated to each other. The 2025 all-star weekend was direct evidence of this, with TV ratings dropping nearly 13% from the previous year.
The Four Nations Faceoff that was played in lieu of the regularly formatted all-star game for the NHL nearly doubled the amount of American viewers that the NBA had for their weekend.
The current format for the NBA made it feel more like an amateur game than a game that is supposed to be a marketing tool for the NBA by putting the best of the best against each other. Instead, the NBA allowed the unquestioned greatest player of the 21st century in LeBron James to announce that he was not playing just hours before tip-off due to what can only be seen as ‘load management’.
This was the first all-star game that the all-time great missed in his 22 year career with 21 nods to the game. To have the current face of the NBA not play in the all-star game due to what was labeled as ‘discomfort’ is just disgraceful. Not only did we as fans miss what could very well be James’ last all-star game, but there was no time to name a replacement, meaning someone that was previously snubbed was unnecessarily left out.
There used to be a huge pride to play in the all-star game, no matter if it was your first time getting the nod, or 15th time. Houston expressed this but implied that there is no immediate fix to this.
“It is the heart and desire of the player to compete,” Houston said.
If the players have no heart and no desire to compete in a game that is supposed to be an honor every time, than the future of the NBA all-star game, and therefore the league as a whole, might be going down the drain.
Matthew Singer