--- title: How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down description: To many fans, it was disappointingly uncompetitive with the lack of defense making it so boring it bordered on unwatchable. canonical: https://time.com/6696413/nba-all-star-game-disappointment/ author: Anna Gordon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-02-19T12:52:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:09:36.858Z article:section: Sports og:title: How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down og:description: How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down og:url: https://time.com/6696413/nba-all-star-game-disappointment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd2d58e462284f69/698a48acb3fce3acc90cbbda/nba-2024-all-star.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 73rd NBA All-Star Game og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down twitter:description: How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd2d58e462284f69/698a48acb3fce3acc90cbbda/nba-2024-all-star.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Anna Gordon](https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Feb 19, 2024 12:52 PM UTC  Steph Curry and Anthony Davis interact during the 73rd NBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on February 18, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Steph Curry and Anthony Davis interact during the 73rd NBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on February 18, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana.Kevin Mazur–Getty Images by [Anna Gordon](https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Feb 19, 2024 12:52 PM UTC It’s no secret that the NBA has a defense problem. The average number of points scored per team per game has been[ steadily climbing](https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA%5Fstats%5Fper%5Fgame.html) over the last 20 years, rising from 93.4 in the 2003-2004 season to an average of 115.4 in the 2023-2024 season as of February. But nothing encapsulates the NBA’s defense problem quite like the annualAll-Star game, which wrapped up on Sunday eveningin an event widely panned by fans and commentators alike. This year, the East beat the West with a final score of 211 to 186, making the East the first team to surpass 200 points in the game’s history. To many fans, it was disappointingly uncompetitive with the lack of defense making it so boring it bordered on unwatchable. > [](https://twitter.com/davidaldridgedc/status/1759433402049081520) Many of the All-Star players say that they are worried about injuries, and are hesitant to push themselves for a game that has no bearing on the results of the rest of the season. “Obviously the fans and the league and everybody wants to be competitive, but then you also as players think about trying not to get hurt,” All-Star player Anthony Davis [said](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/39556264/nba-again-left-seeking-solutions-another-uncompetitive-all-star-game). “Obviously injuries are a part of the game, and no one wants to get hurt in the All-Star Game.” > [](https://twitter.com/MichaelVPina/status/1759405834075766997) This year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives were pushing players to make the game more competitive after last year’s All-Star game television rating reached an all time low. “And to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points,” said a visibly annoyed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Well ... congratulations.” Ahead of the All-Star Game, Silver was more upbeat, “I think we're going to see a good game” in the NBA’s annual midseason showcase at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. After the failure of this year’s game, fans have started coming up with creative incentives to push players to care more about the game’s outcome. > [](https://twitter.com/BenStinar/status/1759431933774168400) > [](https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1759416180505248012) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6696413/nba-all-star-game-disappointment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6696413/nba-all-star-game-disappointment/"},"headline":"How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down","datePublished":"2024-02-19T12:52:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:09:36.858Z","description":"To many fans, it was disappointingly uncompetitive with the lack of defense making it so boring it bordered on unwatchable.","url":"https://time.com/6696413/nba-all-star-game-disappointment/","keywords":["NBA","News","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd2d58e462284f69/698a48acb3fce3acc90cbbda/nba-2024-all-star.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anna Gordon","jobTitle":"Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd2d58e462284f69/698a48acb3fce3acc90cbbda/nba-2024-all-star.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"73rd NBA All-Star Game","caption":"NBA 2024 All-Star","creditText":"Kevin Mazur–Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nba/","name":"NBA"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6696413/nba-all-star-game-disappointment/","name":"How the NBA All-Star Game Lets Fans Down"}}]}] ```