Kevin Durant slams NBA’s new All-Star Game format minutes after it’s announced

By Thomas Schlachter, CNN

(CNN) — “I hate it.”

That was one player’s reaction to the NBA’s new format for the league’s annual All-Star Game.

The new-look tournament, announced by the NBA on Tuesday, will feature four teams of eight players competing in a knockout-style competition. The winners of each first-to-forty semifinal will advance to a championship game.

The changes will begin at February’s All-Star Game held at Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, in San Francisco, California.

Three of the teams taking part will be comprised of the 24 All-Stars selected to play in the exhibition game. The fourth team will consist of players who win the Rising Stars tournament – a competition featuring rookies, sophomores and a selection of G-League players.

The 2025 All-Star Game will also see a change in the selection processes of the teams. TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will each serve as general managers of one of the three All-Star teams.

The three GMs will select their All-Star teams from the 24 selected players in a draft format.

TNT analyst Candace Parker will serve as the GM of the winners of the Rising Stars competition.

TNT, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Just minutes after it was announced, Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant voiced his displeasure at the changes to the game.

“I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I think it will be terrible,” the 14-time NBA All-Star said Tuesday when asked about the changes.

The former NBA MVP said he wants the All-Star Game to go back to a game between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference – a format reintroduced at last season’s game.

Durant did acknowledge that the updated version of the exhibition could prove to be a success.

“We’ll see how this one works, you never know. I might be wrong. I’m just another guy with another opinion but we’ll see how it works,” the two-time NBA champion added.

Despite the changes, fans will still be able to vote for which stars they want to feature in the All-Star game with voting starting on December 19.

The 2024 edition of the game was a history maker with a team exceeding the 200-point mark for the first time in NBA history. The Eastern Conference won for the first time since 2014, beating the Western Conference 211-186.

The 2025 All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET.

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