Photo by John Fisher - Getty Images
Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard #0 of the Milwaukee Bucks works out before game against the Toronto Raptors at Fiserv Forum on January 17, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
An all-star game usually marks the mythical halfway point of a pro sports season. The NBA, in its continuing search for relevance, morphed this year’s contest into a tournament. Gone are the days of the Eastern vs. Western Conference squads, and the excitement of seeing great basketball competition that ended in the late 1990s.
These days, a traveling call is merely a suggestion. Gimmicks such as the In-Season Tournament, the re-christened Emirates Cup this year (the airline paid for sponsorship), both meaningless in the standings with players susceptible to injury, are now the norm.
Pro sports has become a vehicle for flavored entertainment, and less filling than actual athletic competition. It reminds one of old beer commercials from a local brewery.
This season’s weekend was marked by the usual three-point shooting contest, dunking contest, dance tournaments, over-exposed comedians and celebrities, trained seals jumping through hoops, or did I imagine that last one.
Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard, a great three-point shooter, was even outshone in the Mr. Beast $100,000 Challenge. Jaren Barajas, an 18-year-old college student, had to hit the bucket from mid-court, before Lillard could get a trio of three-pointers. Guess who made it, with a buzzer-beater. Hint: Lillard only managed two successful shots.
Eight-Person Teams
The format for this “All-Star” game was a tournament, where 24 players were “drafted” into eight-person teams, named for TNT television analysts: Team Charles Barkley, Team Shaquille O’Neal and Team Kenny Smith. A fourth squad was comprised of rising young NBA stars. Each face-off game ended when one team reached 40 points.
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Ratings are not in, and no one can gauge how many people were asleep, when Lillard hit a three-pointer in the final third game tilt, a 42-35 win by O’Neal’s “OGs” over the Rising Stars. The Stars were managed by WNBA great Candace Parker.
Milwaukee fans were unable to see a match-up between Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo on different squads, as the latter has been out with a calf injury since Feb. 5.
The final indignity was the game being broadcast on TNT, the same network as the television analysts, Sling, and several other streaming platforms. It was not available on regular broadcast channels.
Now it’s on to the second half of the season, and the Bucks did not sit idle at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. General Manager Jon Horst engineered some interesting moves to hopefully prime the team going forward. The Bucks are currently 29-24, and holding third place in the Central Division, and fifth place overall in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
In what eventually became a deal between four teams, Khris Middleton and AJ Johnson were sent to the Washington Wizards, for Kyle Kuzma (15.3 points per game average), two draft picks and draft rights to Mathias Lessort. The oft-injured Middleton left a message to fans on social media, after leaving town as the team’s top three-point shooter.
“Twelve years ago, I arrived in this city as a young player with a big dream,” he said. “Today, I leave as an NBA champion, 3x All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and most importantly, someone who Milwaukee helped shape into the person and player I am today. From the moment, I (set) foot in this city, you embraced me.
“That magical run (the 2021 NBA championship) will stay with me forever … bringing the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to Milwaukee after 50 years.”
In another swap, the Bucks had already put the writing on the wall for MarJon Beauchamp, by not renewing his player option for next year. He was traded for Kevin Porter Jr. (9.2 points per game, 42.4% shooting average) to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Well, here we go. The Bucks play at the Fiserv Forum against the Los Angeles Clippers (Feb. 20), the Miami Heat (Feb. 23), and the Denver Nuggets (Feb. 27).
