LOS ANGELES – NBA’s most prominent star, LeBron James, destroyed the league’s plans to host an All-Star Game in Atlanta in March, while restrictions on COVID-19 continue to dominate the regular season.
“I have no energy or excitement about the All-Star game this year,” said James after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 114-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star game.”
James, 36, played in the league’s showcase event for 16 of his 17 league seasons and, as a major voter, was named captain for the past three seasons when the NBA moved away from the East against the West and adopted a format of draft to spice up the competition.
“Short off-season for me and my teammates, 71 days,” said James, referring to the time that the Lakers had from game 6 of the NBA finals in October to their opening night against the LA Clippers in December . “And at the beginning of this season, we were told that we would not have an All-Star game, so we would have a nice little break. Five days [in March] from 5 to 10, an opportunity for me to kind of recalibrate myself for the second half of the season. My companions too. Some of the league guys.
“And then they play an All-Star game on us like this and just break everything. So, um, almost a slap in the face.”
James also stated the obvious health concerns of organizing the festivities in Atlanta, Georgia, where there are fewer state restrictions on coronavirus compared to other NBA locations across the country. The Atlanta Hawks, for example, are one of nine teams that allow fans to play at home this season.
“We are also still dealing with a pandemic,” said James. “Are we still dealing with everything that is going on and are we going to bring the entire league to a city that is open? Obviously, the pandemic has absolutely nothing to do with it right now, when it comes to that weekend.
“Obviously, you can see that I’m not very happy about it.”
While expressing his discontent in unmistakable terms, James said he would appear for the game if he was named an All-Star for the 17th consecutive season. James led the West with 2,288,676 votes in the league’s first vote announced on Thursday. Kevin Durant of Brooklyn led the East with 2,302,705 votes, being the only player in the league to appear in more votes than James.
“It’s the agreement between the players’ association and the league … It’s out of my hands,” said James. “I will be there if selected. But I will be there physically, but not mentally.”