Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James slammed the possibility of an NBA All-Star Game after his team’s victory over the Denver Nuggets Thursday night.
What happened?
It was reported Thursday that the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association will likely finalize a deal to host an All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta, ESPN reports.
- The single-game event will feature the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams facing off against each other, as well as the normal skills competition.
- The two sides are still ironing out safety protocols to keep everyone safe.
LeBron James reacts
James — when asked about the All-Star Game on Thursday night — called it a “slap in the face” for players.
- “I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” he said after a 114-93 win over the Denver Nuggets. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.”
- “Short offseason for myself and my teammates. It was 71 days. And then coming into this season, we were told that we were not having an All-Star Game, so we’d have a nice little break.
- “Five days (in March) from the fifth through the 10th, an opportunity for me to kind of recalibrate for the second half of the season — my teammates as well, some of the guys in the league. And then they throw an All-Star Game on us like this and just breaks that all the way up. So, um, pretty much kind of a slap in the face.”
Meanwhile ...
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The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. And James had a banner night, passing Wilt Chamberlain in the number of field goals made. James trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the all-time leader with 15,837, and Karl Malone, with 13,528, according to CNN.