Richard Jefferson blames ‘BS’ All-Star Game format on Hall of Famers who ‘decided to stop playing hard’

The 2025 NBA All-Star Game had a brand new look. Instead of featuring just one game between two teams, the league put together a tournament featuring four teams to produce one champion.

Of the four teams, three were made up of All-Stars while the fourth was made up of Rising Stars who weren’t officially named All-Stars. That formula seriously irked Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green, who opined that the Rising Stars didn’t deserve to be there.

But in the eyes of former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson, this season’s “BS” format was only created because Hall of Famers “decided to stop playing hard” in the annual All-Star Game. He implied that the younger players can’t be blamed for that.

The NBA has tried various All-Star Game formats in recent years amid issues with competitiveness and interest. Before the NBA switched to this season’s tournament format, it had become a common occurrence for the two teams in the All-Star Game to combine for over 300 points. Last season, almost 400 points were scored.

Those scores are a pretty good indication of how those games went, with not a lot of defense happening and effort being optional. This season’s format might have added a little bit of juice, but many fans came away feeling like the event was still nothing like it used to be.

For what it’s worth, the Rising Stars team put up a pretty good fight in its semifinal game of Sunday’s tournament before ultimately falling to “Shaq’s OGs,” a team assembled by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal which featured players like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and other veterans.

O’Neal’s team eventually won the whole tournament, with Curry taking home MVP honors in front of the Bay Area crowd.

Some time ago, the All-Star Game was a sight to see in the NBA, but for now, those days are seemingly on pause. Somewhere along the way, players stopped taking the event as seriously as they used to, and Jefferson may have a point that the “older brothers” in the league are to blame.