If you’ve watched any NBA coverage lately (and who hasn’t?), then you’ve no doubt seen promos for the upcoming mid-season All-Star Game. It’s set for Sunday, February 16 in San Francisco.
But.. maybe you didn’t know that this year’s event is going to be absolutely, positively different from anything you may have seen in the past. It’s not a single game, but a mini-tournament, feature the best of the best…and all put together by our favorite TV crew, the guys at Inside the NBA!
Gotta admit, even here at the offices of the ShaqFu Radio blog, we were not aware of the cool, fun changes in the works for the mid-season classic. This year, the All-Star Game will change into a tournament-style contest that will take place over three games.
As for the guys from Inside the NBA, our three favorite commentators, Shaq, Sir Charles and Kenny Smith went through a fantasy-style draft to create three teams of eight superstar players.
In addition, WNBA superstar Candace Parker will also lead a team… the winner of the 2025 Castrol Rising Stars Challenge.
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
There will be two semi-final games to determine which teams move on to the All-Star championship. The first team to reach 40 points will be declared the winner. There’s a prize pool of $1.8 million that will be split among the four teams. The winners will take home $125,000 each. Not bad for a night’s work!
So, how do the teams shape up? Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal was awarded the first pick of the All-Star Game draft and took current Laker superstar LeBron James first overall for his roster.
Along with James, Shaq’s squad features his old co-star Anthony Davis. O’Neal clearly wanted to reunite the USA Basketball veterans as well as he also took Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, giving fans another chance to watch the three superstars play alongside each other. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, James Harden and Jaylen Brown round out Team Shaq, giving James plenty of options to work with during the tournament.
Meanwhile, Charles Barkley might have had the best overall draft, as his team features Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, three players who all have a case for MVP this season. However, Barkley somehow also got Victor Wembanyama to round out his team full of size, length and athleticism.
Kenny Smith went more guard-heavy as his team will be led by Anthony Edward and Jalen Brunson. Smith also seemed to enjoy taking swings on first-time All-Star like Jalen Williams and Tyler Herro, two guards who should be plenty motivated to put on a show.
For James, this will be his 21st All-Star selection. Even at 40 years old, James remains one of the best players in the NBA as he’s got the Lakers rolling ahead of the All-Star break.
It remains to be seen how the new tournament-style All-Star Game will be received, but regardless it’ll be fun to see James suit up and compete against the best in the league.
Gotta admit…normally, NBA All-Star games are three-point-shooting, no-defense-required affairs. This time around, it’s going to be a lot more interesting. We’ll be watching, for sure!