The NBA All-Star Game has become a problem that won’t go away. Year after year, the event’s popularity continues to decline, and fans aren’t shy about voicing their frustrations. The main complaint? Players just aren’t competing like they used to.
Many believe the lack of effort comes from stars being too worried about getting injured in what’s supposed to be a fun exhibition game. But now, one of the league’s biggest names has stepped forward with a solution that might actually work.
Stephen Curry’s Suggestion Regarding the NBA All-Star Game
Before the start of the second day of All-Star Weekend on February 14, Stephen Curry spoke during an interview about the growing concerns surrounding the event.
When asked what he thinks could make the All-Star Game competitive again, Curry didn’t hesitate, and he immediately suggested that shortening the All-Star Game could be the key solution.
“Unfortunately, I can’t help this year because I’m not playing. But I think the only thing I would think about is shortening the game. That might be the only real suggestion I would have, just because it’s hard to replicate the intensity of a regular-season game. Nobody’s asking anybody to act like it’s a playoff game with those types of stakes. But a shorter game, maybe.”
Steph Curry on what the league should do to make the All-Star game competitive again:
“Unfortunately, I can’t help this year because I’m not playing. But I think the only thing I would think about is shortening the game. That might be the only real suggestion I would have just… pic.twitter.com/J8UDyoEHW0
— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) February 14, 2026
“I know they’re doing a great job of trying to shorten the day for us as All-Stars because we’re sort of used to a certain game day prep that gets your body ready to go. The timeouts aren’t as long, and the breaks in between games aren’t as long. The league is doing a great job in trying to address that. That’s the only suggestion I would have. The 40-minute game, maybe? If you’re going back to the 2 teams format. But in this situation, short and sweet is better. I think that would help the competition,” Curry said during the interview.
Interestingly, Curry isn’t the only one from the Warriors organization speaking up about this issue. His longtime teammate, Draymond Green, recently addressed the same problem on his podcast.
Green pushed back against the common narrative that players are holding back because they’re scared of injuries. “As basketball players, we never go out on the court thinking this is the time I get hurt… You go out on the court, you participate in the game. You played the game, you go back to the locker room,” he said in a recent segment of ‘The Draymond Green Show.’
The league has clearly recognized there’s a problem, as last year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver tried something different to inject life into the 2025 All-Star Game. Instead of the traditional format, they introduced an exciting four-team mini-tournament.
The 24 All-Stars were split into teams by the Inside the NBA crew. Team Shaq featured veteran stars, Team Chuck showcased international talent, and Team Kenny brought together young guns. The fourth squad, Team Candace, was made up of winners from the Rising Stars Challenge the night before.
But even this creative shake-up didn’t do the trick.
The fans responded with their remotes. Honestly, the numbers don’t lie. Viewership dropped 13% compared to the previous year, according to Front Office Sports. Just over 4.7 million people watched, down from nearly 5.4 million in 2024. Clearly, whatever the league tried wasn’t enough to win fans back.
It remains to be seen whether the NBA will listen to Curry’s advice for the next All-Star event.